The Choices We Make: The Orbstone
by Imperial Acclamator 119830
Summary: Sequel series to A New Power - We all make decisions that effect not only us, but many others around us. We create a chain of events that we cannot hope to control. But for a young witch with unimaginable power locked inside her, her actions may change the world.
1. Destinies

A/N: Hello to any and all who take the time to check this out! Thanks! It's greatly appreciated, as always. Before we get on with the story, I feel I owe a bit of an explanation to anyone who might have read my A New Power series. Anyone who has not, please feel free to skip on ahead to the story! This part will likely not interest you… heck it's not likely to interest anyone really, but I feel compelled to put it in regardless.

I'll admit when I finished my last tale, The Promise, earlier this year I fully intended to stop writing for a good long while and I certainly never planned on any sort of sequel or continuation of the A New Power series in any way. I had planned on The Promise to wrap up the series, and wrap it up it did.

There were dozens of possibilities for continuing the series spinning in my head, but I always firmly shot them down with what amounted to the mental equivalent of heat seeking missiles. I had been working in the same universe, with the same characters and a horribly twisted plot for far too long and I was fully and completely done. And while I was sad to say goodbye, I was also happy to be done and content in the knowledge that if I ever chose to do something else, it would be something new and different.

But distance, as they say, makes the heart grow fonder and so for the past couple of months I've been looking through the old files where I kept my work on ANP, remembering plotlines that died painful deaths and never saw the light of day to the file containing what I always called my Ideas of Utter and Complete Stupidity, a Word document that NO ONE will ever be allowed to read. But as I read through everything I had, I realized I wanted to do something else. Definitely not a direct sequel continuing the story, but something. I liked the ending I had in The Promise and wanted it to stay as it was. So, what to do… what to do?

Well, what comes next is what came from the brainstorming session that followed my choice to write something new that day. It isn't a sequel really, more of a spin off. It's set in the same timeline, but it is a different story with different characters. There will be elements of A New Power sprinkled throughout, but I am going to _ensure_ that it will **not be necessary** to read even a **single** chapter of ANP to fully understand the happenings in this.

Also, to anyone who _has _read A New Power, this story will be written rather differently. It is not the war story that ANP sometimes was, nor will there be any time travel. It is really a story about making choices and the consequences of those choices, a theme which has been weighing on my mind recently and I figured it would work well in this instance.

Thanks again for checking in and particularly to anyone who actually read that wall of text. Blessed Be. And now, on with the story!

-.-

-.-.-.-.-

-.-

-.-.-.-.-

-.-

_The greatest magical war to have ever raged was over. The Ministry of Magic was victorious over the most powerful army of Dark wizards ever to be assembled. Led primarily by Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, the forces of the Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix wiped the forces of darkness from existence. The years that followed that victory should have been peaceful. It should have been a new era of peace._

_It wasn't. _

_Fifteen years after the end of the war, a fatal accident alerted the Muggle world to the existence of magic. At the start, it seemed as though a new time of co-existence between Magical and Muggle would be possible. But the magical secret had been kept for a reason. Over the next decade, Magical-Muggle relations continued to deteriorate. Muggles feared the power of Magicals, worried that they would see the rest of the world as theirs for the taking. _

_This eventually led to a war that proved devastating to the Muggle world. The Muggles could not penetrate the hidden places controlled by Magicals, but many wizards lived among Muggles. Thousands of wizards were caught and killed and the Magical world responded in kind. When it at last became obvious that the Magicals could not be defeated by conventional means, the Muggles unleashed their nuclear weapons. _

_The Muggle world was all but destroyed yet the Magical world, which proved to be immune to the devastating weapons, was untouched. This brought about the end of the war and in the five hundred years since that time, the general knowledge of magic has been erased from the minds of the few hundred thousand Muggle survivors. _

_Five hundred years have passed since then and in that time Magicals secretly helped the Muggles rebuild their world, but only to the point that they were before the war. Magic is once again a secret, Magicals and Muggles live as they once did, in plain sight of one another and yet the Muggles remain ignorant of the existence of magic. _

**Leeds, England. August 23rd, 2521, **

The small neighborhood in Leeds was very quiet so late in the evening. Everyone had already turned in for the night leaving the streets empty and dark. This didn't bother the only person who appeared to have decided to take a stroll late that Thursday night. The woman was old and wearing a bright red cloak. Her long gray hair was tied up in a neat bun in the back of her head. This woman's name was Harmony Phoebus. She strode with purpose down the street, her eyes which looked as alert and aware as someone less than half her age darted from dark house to dark house, as though she expected to be attacked at any moment.

She was quite alone, however, except for a very pretty young woman who appeared so suddenly that one might think she just popped into existence. She had dark brown eyes and long, dark curly hair. The young woman turned and kept pace with the older woman.

"What happened?" the young woman demanded in angry tones. "What went wrong?"

"We put our faith in the wrong person," said Phoebus firmly.

"We put our faith in the _only _person we could," the brunette replied. "What else could we have done?"

"We should have prepared her," Phoebe countered. "She wasn't ready for that kind of power and she was consumed by it. He corrupted her..."

"It was _her_ choice, not yours," the brunette shot back. "We agreed, no matter their decisions, we wouldn't interfere. We may have wanted her to abandon her birthright or at least use that power for good, but in the end the choice isn't ours."

"You weren't there!" Phoebus roared. "She would've destroyed us all if given the chance!"

"And what do you think her daughter will do when she learns the truth?"

"Scarlett will never know the truth," said Phoebus firmly. "This, all of this... it's in Scarlett's hands now. I'm not going to let her find out what happened... and I'm not going to expose her to the threat she'll face until she's ready. Alexandra was far too young when I told her. She wasn't ready... she didn't understand."

"He'll come for her," the brunette said grimly. "He'll come for her and you won't be able to stop him. He knows about Alexandra and he'll be prepared for Scarlett now. She's just a child! You're going to leave her unprotected if she doesn't know what she is! What she'll grow to be... the power inside her..."

"The power inside her can't come out unless we let it. No one else can find that damned place but me. Even _he_ can't get there."

"Mistakes were made," the brunette said sharply, grabbing Phoebus's arm and forcing her to stop in the middle the street. "We _both _made mistakes with Alexandra and it cost her her life."

"We're not going to make those mistakes with Scarlett," Phoebus began, but the brunette cut her off.

"No, you're going to make all new ones!" she shouted furiously. "You... if you're set on doing this, you know I can't stop you... but I won't help you. If you're intent on lying to her, on hiding what happened from her... you do so on your own. I won't come back again."

"That might be for the best," said Phoebus softly. "I've got to do this my way this time... I have to." The brunette looked to be on the verge of tears, but she nodded.

"Very well," she said sadly. "But this is wrong... and you'll pay dearly for it."

"Then it's my price to pay," said Phoebus resolutely.

"It's just too bad you're asking a little girl to share the cost," said the brunette just as firmly. Without another word the brunette faded away, like a spirit vanishing into the Afterlife.

"I'm sorry, my friend, but this is the only way," said Phoebus softly. She stopped outside of Number 9231, Alta Street and watched the small family inside their sitting room. The husband sat in an armchair speaking to his wife who held a small child, the same child Phoebus herself had given to them mere hours before. The same child who would one day hold the fate of everything they all held dear in her hands.

"One day, Scarlett," Phoebus whispered. "One day you'll understand..."

-.-

_This is were our story begins, nine years later, with that very same little girl's first day at the most prestigious school of magic in the world; Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Scarlett Moreau grew up an orphan, living with a small Magical family in Leeds who had adopted her after her parents' deaths when she was only two. _

_Scarlett knows only that she is loved, that she is cared for, and that she has a place at Hogwarts. What she doesn't know is that she is special… special to someone who seeks to bring about change for both Magical and Muggle worlds alike. But for now, she is just an eleven year old girl, scrambling around her bedroom, hurriedly tossing the last of her school books into her trunk…_

-.-

**The Choices We Make: The Orbstone**

Chapter One: Destinies 

-.-

Scarlett Moreau paused as she rushed around her room in the early morning hours of the first day of September packing everything she would need to go to her new school; a magical school called Hogwarts, and examined herself in the full body mirror on her wardrobe door. Scarlett was rather small for her age. She had sparkling brown eyes and long chestnut hair that fell in loose curls down to her waist.

Moving away from the mirror, she scooped up a stack of books she intended to leave behind and her eyes fell on an old leather-bound photograph album lying on her bed. The ragged book held mostly pictures of herself and her parents, but in the very back of the book she kept what might be the most important photo she possessed. It was the only picture of her mother and father that she had. It, much like the book, was ripped and torn but she had repaired it with Spell-o-Tape and secured it safely in the album.

She had concealed it from her parents, had never mentioned that she had the picture. She felt, perhaps, that her family might think her unhappy and that she wished she still lived with her birth parents. This was, of course, untrue. Scarlett had never once wished for her birth parents; she called them this because the man and woman who had raised her were as much her real parents as the couple who had conceived her. She loved them both very much and knew they felt the same.

Jonathon and Sara Hobbard had been unable to conceive a child, a fact which devastated the young couple. When their close friends, Alexandra and Michael Moreau had been killed in a terrible accident involving their work on new and experimental spells and potions, Sara and Jonathon had happily adopted Scarlett and raised her as their own. They had given Scarlett so much, been so good to her that she didn't want them to think she would rather be with her birth parents, so she very rarely mentioned them.

Now, though, she found herself thinking more about them than she had in years past… especially now that she was on her way to Hogwarts. The entire Magical world knew the name 'Moreau'. Alexandra and Michael had been very famous. They were responsible for many new and advanced spells that were now in use all over the world. Therefore, their accidental deaths were perhaps more famous than the witch and wizard themselves.

This, of course, meant that Scarlett would be famous at Hogwarts as well. Even though she had grown up mostly in the Muggle world, the daughter of two of the most well-known wizards in a century coming to Hogwarts would be big news and Scarlett was worried about what would be expected of her.

Scarlett picked up the photo album and placed it in her wardrobe with the other books she was leaving behind and closed the door. She checked her trunk one last time to ensure she had everything she needed while her Barred Owl perched in her cage, watching her with her large amber eyes. The owl hooted dolefully as Scarlett locked the photo album away.

"What?" Scarlett asked, looking up at the large bird. The owl hooted again while flapping one wing in the direction of the wardrobe. "I don't need it, Aura. We're going to school, not a memorial service." Aura stared at her with those wide amber eyes that said quite plainly: "You'll regret it if you leave it behind," Scarlett was about to say something more when her mother's voice echoed up the stairs.

"Scarlett, sweetheart, breakfast's ready! Hurry up, darling! We don't want to be late for the train!"

"Coming, Mum!" Scarlett called back. She glanced at Aura again. The owl hooted rather bleakly. Sighing heavily, Scarlett reached back into the wardrobe, seized the album and packed it securely in her trunk. Aura hooted happily. Scarlett rolled her eyes and hurried downstairs and into the kitchen where her parents were waiting for her.

"Oh, there she is!" Sara exclaimed excitedly as her only daughter entered the kitchen. "My baby's first ever day at Hogwarts! I'm so proud!" She placed a heaping plate of bacon and eggs on the table as Scarlett sat down.

"All I did was live until September 1st, Mum," said Scarlett abashedly. "I haven't done anything to be proud of yet."

"It's been your mother's dream to see her child go off to Hogwarts," said Jonathan from across the table as he folded up that day's edition of _The Daily Prophet_. "A dream I share with her, darling."

"I... I know, and I... I mean... I'm just... Dad, they were _so _smart," Scarlett whispered, voicing her fears for the very first time. "They were brilliant and the whole world looked up to them and... and I'm afraid that people at school will expect the same from me, and I..."

"Baby, don't worry about that," said Jonathan warmly. "You're an amazing girl and you'll do just fine at Hogwarts. I know it's hard. I remember my first year..."

"Oh, sweetheart, don't get him started," said Sara, returning to the table with a glass of orange juice for Scarlett. "You know your father and his stories, honey."

"Scarlett happens to like my stories," said Jonathan firmly. "Don't you, baby?"

"Of course I do, Daddy," said Scarlett sweetly. "Although, I _know _you were lying when you told me that there was no Hogwarts Express when you went to school and you had to walk the whole way in the snow without a coat." Sara choked on her own orange juice as she tried to hold in a laugh.

"He told you that?" she asked her daughter, who nodded.

"Every father has to have one of those stories, Sara," said Jonathan brightly. "It's one of the laws of fatherhood!"

-.-

Scarlett gave her room one last look over as her father collected her trunk and Aura's cage and took them out to the car. She knew she had packed everything, but she was determined to be completely sure. Once she was finished, she picked up her wand off of her dresser, walked to the door and only looked back once before closing the door behind her. Her wand seemed to vibrate with the very same excitement she felt as she descended the stairs. She remembered very well the day, three weeks ago, when she had first entered Ollivanders' wand shop in Diagon Alley.

Mr. Ollivander had been a very odd man indeed. He had long, wispy white hair and bright eyes that had caused her to feel as though she were being x-rayed. The old man in whose family the only wand shop in Diagon Alley had been in for centuries had taken her measurements and then started pulling wands from the many towering shelves and shoved them one at a time into her hands before jerking them out almost instantly.

After nearly half an hour, it seemed they had finally found the right fit. Ten and a quarter inches, vine wood and dragon heartstring. Mr. Ollivander then informed her that the wand, as she already knew, chooses the wizard. He also told her something she found rather disturbing. He explained that it was very interesting that a wand nearly identical to hers had been sold at the shop many years before to a young girl that looked remarkably similar to her. That wand had gone on to do a great many amazing things, just like the witch that it had belonged to.

This had concerned Scarlett greatly. She feared that perhaps the same would be expected of her. Her father, however, had reassured her that Ollivander had told stories like that when both he and Sara had purchased their wands and promised her that she needn't worry. Still, there was something in the way Mr. Ollivander had looked at her that made her feel as though maybe, just maybe, something was different about her… and she didn't _want _to be different.

-.-

The journey to King's Cross station was mostly uneventful. Scarlett sat in the backseat of her family's small sedan next to Aura's cage. Her mother was still gushing as she had done at breakfast, but Scarlett remained rather quiet. She was getting more and more nervous the closer they got to the station and she felt opening her mouth might make her feel even more nauseous than she already did.

Once at the station, her father loaded her trunk and Aura's cage onto a cart and wheeled it into the station while Sara and Scarlett walked behind him, Sara busily adjusting her daughter's hair.

"Its fine, Mum!" Scarlett exclaimed as they rushed through the magically concealed barrier to Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. A scarlet steam engine sat before them as they emerged onto the platform, steam billowing wildly into the air. They made their way across the platform where hundreds of parents and students were saying their goodbyes and boarding the train. As they fought their way through the crowd, Scarlett crashed headlong into something soft and fell backwards. When she looked up, she realized she had collided with a young blonde girl about her own age.

"Sorry," the girl said apologetically as she stood to her feet and held out a hand to help Scarlett.

"Don't be, I ran into you," said Scarlett, taking the girl's hand and standing up herself. "I…" But she broke off. Both girl's had just looked into the other's eyes and as ocean blue met chocolate brown, both of them jumped as though an electric shock had just coursed through them. Scarlett felt intense waves of emotions wash over her. Everything from the most powerful love one could ever imagine to the greatest pain she had ever felt. One look into the other girl's eyes told Scarlett she had felt the very same thing.

"I… I should go." said the blonde girl. She scurried away. Scarlett nearly forgot about the girl as she and her parents continued down the platform. They stopped outside one of the last carriages and while Jonathan helped load Scarlett's trunk and Aura's cage into the luggage rack, Sara knelt down in front of her daughter.

"I… I want to give you something," she said, reaching into her pocket. She retrieved a golden necklace and passed it to Scarlett, who took it and examined it. It was a small golden circle shaped locket attached to a thin chain. Engraved on the locket were the images of a pair of oval stones, a golden snake, a goblet with a strange symbol engraved on it, and lastly, a sparkling silver staff surrounding what looked like the letter A, only without the line in the middle. "This belonged to your mother," Sara went on, watching Scarlett carefully. "She asked me to give this to you, should anything ever happen to her."

"W… what is it?" Scarlett asked perplexed.

"Honestly, I don't know," said Sara. "Alexandra insisted that I give it to you before you went to Hogwarts. It was very special to her. I remember her wearing it every time I saw her. She said it was… She said she wanted you to have it." It wasn't until she had bid her parents goodbye, waved to them as the train pulled out of the station, watching as her mother sobbed into a handkerchief while her father held her tightly, and had sat down in her otherwise empty compartment near the end of the train that it occurred to her that 'She said she wanted you to have it' was perhaps not what her mother had intended to say in regards to the locket.

Since she was alone, she took a moment to examine the locket more closely. Of course, the first thing anyone presented with a locket would do is attempt to open it, which Scarlett naturally tried to do. But try as she might, the locket remained subbornly closed. After several minutes and a couple of sore fingers, she gave up trying to open it and simply slipped the golden chain around her neck. The heavy locket settled against her chest. As she sat there, examining the locket, the compartment door slid open and a dark haired boy with grey eyes poked his head in.

"Is anyone sitting there?" He asked, indicating the empty seats. Scarlett shook her head. "Great!" said the boy. He entered the compartment and sat down across from Scarlett. "The name's Jake, Jake Warren."

"Scarlett Moreau," Scarlett replied.

"Whoa, really?" Jake asked in surprise. "As in _the _Scarlett Moreau? Wow, I've heard all about you, of course… Well, not about you exactly, but more your parents. What happened… that was the worst magical accident in a century! Oh, but you probably don't want to talk about them. Sorry, I'm being horribly insensitive… I'll shut up now." He said all of this _incredibly _fast and now he was blushing furiously.

"No, please, it's alright," said Scarlett kindly. "I don't really remember my parents anyway. I don't feel sad if I talk about them."

"Doesn't stop me feeling like a right prat, though," said Jake grimly.

"Why don't you tell me about your family, then?" Scarlett suggested lightly.

"Oh, you'd find my folks terribly dull," said Jake. "I'm muggleborn."

"Ooooh!" said Scarlett excitedly. "I've always wondered what's it's like for muggleborns. You hadn't even heard of magic before you got you letter, did you?"

"No, I had no idea," Jake replied. "Another world hidden in plain sight and I never suspected it until my letter arrived. My dad thought it was a joke, but we went to London anyway and once we went into the Leaky Cauldron he knew it was all real."

"What did they say?" asked Scarlett. "You're parents, I mean. When they found out you were going to be a wizard."

"Oh, well, they're quite pleased now that they know more." Jake replied. "They were worried at first, but they've read our course books and now they're quite excited. They're still concerned about the whole muggleborn controversy, but…"

"I think all that stuff is just rubbish," said Scarlett firmly. "I live in a Muggle town and most of my friends back home are Muggles, and they're really nice. All that muggleborn stuff is just prejudice."

"Thanks," Jake said very gratefully. "At least I'll have one friend at Hogwarts."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll have more than one," said Scarlett with a smile. "My dad says the Ministry's just afraid of another war and wants to keep muggleborns suppressed, that's why there's all of the anti-muggleborn legislation. I don't think you'll have many problems at Hogwarts. Professor Phoebus lets everyone in so long as they're magical."

Jake must have said something in reply, but Scarlett didn't hear him. Her attention had instead been drawn to the sound of hurried footsteps out in the corridor. She stood and pushed open the door in time to see three blonde boys rush passed and forced themselves through a compartment door further down the train. The same blonde girl that Scarlett realized could only be the boys' sister hurried after them, but the boys entered the compartment first.

"Sorry, sis," said the boy who appeared to be the oldest. "We're full up in here. You'll have to find another one." He shut the door. Looking quite upset, the girl turned and made her way back up the train.

"You can sit in here with us," Scarlett said as the girl drew nearer. The girl looked up at her, surprised. Her eyes widened slightly and she avoided Scarlett's gaze.

"I… I don't think I should…"

"Don't be silly," Scarlett interrupted her. "There's plenty of room! Come on…" She held the door open. The girl glanced into a couple of surrounding compartments, found them to be full as well, and reluctantly accepted Scarlett's offer. She glanced up at Scarlett as she slipped into the compartment and as their eyes met once again they both felt the very same sensations they had on the platform. Neither girl mentioned this as the blonde girl entered the compartment and sat down in the middle seat. By the time Scarlett sank back into the window seat next to her, Jake was already talking.

"Jake's the name," he introduced himself. "Jake Warren."

"Lilly," said the girl. "Lilly Harcourt," She glanced sideways at Scarlett. "What's your name?" she asked, her eyes locked firmly on Scarlett's neck.

"Scarlett Moreau," she replied, already prepared for the way Lilly's blue eyes widened at the sound of her name.

"Alexandra and Michael Moreau's daughter?" she asked in a surprised voice, no longer seeming quite as frightened of Scarlett as she had before.

"The one and only," said Jake brightly.

"I'm nowhere near as interesting as people seem to think," said Scarlett quietly. "I'm not special…"

"You're the daughter of the brightest witch and wizard in the last hundred years!" Jake exclaimed.

"You'll probably be way ahead of the rest of us at Hogwarts," said Lilly. "Even if you're only half as smart as your parents, you'll be brilliant!"

"I've been reading all of our course books from cover to cover since I got them," said Jake uncertainly. "But I still don't know if it'll be enough…"

"I haven't even opened mine," said Lilly with a shrug. Jake clearly found this whole conversation uncomfortable because he abruptly changed the subject.

"Do either of you have any idea what house you'll be in?" he asked curiously.

"Gryffindor," said Lilly instantly. "My whole family's been in Gryffindor since as long as anybody can remember. They'll already have my name stamped onto my bedpost." She glanced at Scarlett. "What about you? Ravenclaw, I'd say if I were to guess."

"Maybe," said Scarlett rather distantly. "My mum really wants me to be in Hufflepuff, that was her House, but I'm not sure…"

"Anything's better than Slytherin," said Lilly darkly. "The whole lot of them are…"

"My dad was in Slytherin," said Scarlett lightly. "And he's just about the nicest man you could meet."

"Well, it's just… every wizard who's ever gone over to the dark side has come out of Slytherin." Lilly said delicately. "I wouldn't want the reputation."

The rest of the journey went smoothly. The three first years chatted idly as the sky outside grew darker. Lilly and Scarlett grew much more comfortable with each other the longer they sat together. Lilly, in particular, found that after awhile the feelings of tremendous pain and loss she felt when she looked at Scarlett waned. The feelings of unimaginable love, however, stayed. She couldn't understand this. She had just met this girl, and while she certainly _liked _Scarlett, she couldn't possibly love her as much as she felt she should.

Lilly found that, although odd, it wasn't a bad thing to feel. In fact, the more often she looked at Scarlett, the more the feeling of pain went away, leaving a comfortably warm glow in her heart instead. She was sure Scarlett felt the same things, although she had decided not to mention this to the other girl just in case she had lost her mind and the brunette felt nothing at all.

The girls snacked on sweets they bought from an elderly witch pushing a small trolley through the train. They shared willingly with Jake, who had brought along a package of his favorite Muggle sweets, many of which Lilly had never encountered before. Jake received a great surprise indeed when he picked up a pentagon shaped package which turned to be a Chocolate Frog. The frog turned as soon as Jake opened the box and leapt straight at Jake's face, bounced off his forehead, and clattered to the floor.

Scarlett and Lilly were both doing their very best to keep themselves from laughing, but one glance between the girls was all it took to send both of them into shaking fits of laughter. Clinging to each other, the girls would've rolled onto the floor had the compartment been big enough.

"Sorry," said Scarlett when she had at last regained some self-control. Lilly, meanwhile, was still chortling. "I'm sorry, Jake, but... that was hilarious."

"Yeah, really funny that was," he said dryly. "Where'd it go anyway?"

"They'll escape if you don't catch them quick," said Lilly, still grinning widely. "It's long gone by now."

"Check the card, though," said Scarlett idly. "You can start collecting."

"The card...?" Jake asked his eyes narrowed with confusion.

"The card in the package," said Lilly. "It's in the back there. It'll have a famous witch or wizard on it." Jake reached into the package and pulled out the card and flipped it over. The image of a raven haired man peered up at him.

"Harry Potter," he said, reading the name off the card.

"I've never gotten that one before," said Lilly. "Have you?" she asked Scarlett. The brunette shook her head.

"No, I've never even heard of him..." She reached out and took the card from Jake so she could read the information on the back.

"_Regarded as one of the most important magical figures of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Harry James Potter was in part responsible for the downfall of the dark wizards known as Voldemort and Grindelwald. _

"_Harry Potter played Quidditch for his Hogwarts House team, Gryffindor, and briefly played professional Quidditch for England. He also assisted in the development of a potion that was capable of nullifying the effects of Unforgivable Curses_

"_Harry was married to Hermione Elizabeth Granger, who is suspected to be in the same lineage of the Atlantean goddess, Aurora. Together the couple had four children, all girls._"

"Voldemort…" Lilly said slowly. "Grindelwald… No wonder those guys turned to the dark side. I would too if my mother had called me Voldemort. Seriously, what sort of idiot looks at their little baby and says, 'Oh look, he looks like a little Voldemort!'?"

"Maybe that name was in style back then," Scarlett suggested. "That _was _five hundred years ago. I'd bet there were lots of people named Voldemort back then."

"Voldemort wouldn't have been a pretty name five _thousand _years ago," said Lilly. "I mean I've heard some weird ones, but Voldemort takes the prize."

"This Potter must have been a really powerful wizard," said Jake, putting an end to the girls' debate over popular twentieth century names. "To defeat all those wizards, he would have to have been."

"I wonder if those wizards had anything to do with the Great War," Lilly pondered. "I mean, a huge wizard war would have to attract the attention of Muggles. Maybe that's how they found out about us, about magic."

"Maybe," said Scarlett. "I mean, no one knows how it really started, do they? There aren't any records from that time left. But, I suppose that could've been what caused it."

They changed into their school robes as night fell and soon enough the train began to slow and finally it eased to a stop in Hogsmeade Station. There was a tremendous banging and clattering as hundreds of students moved into the corridor. Scarlett, Lilly, and Jake joined the group and made their way out onto the platform. It was a clear, crisp night and a full moon shone brightly over their heads as they made there way along the platform. Suddenly, a loud whistle sounded and a deep, gravelly voice began to shout;

"First years! First years! All first years, come this way please!" They moved forward, pushing through the crowd until they saw a large, muscled man with a thick gray beard and a shiny bald head that was covered with what looked like a striped train engineer's cap. The man was leaning on a thick, wooden cane and grinning widely at them as all of the first years gathered around him.

"Let me be the first to welcome you all to Hogwarts," he said gruffly. "Doddard's the name. I'm groundskeeper here at Hogwarts. Now, if you'll all follow me, we'll be getting to the school a bit differently than the rest of your classmates." He turned and stomped off, leading the first years down a long, narrow trail and to the edge of a vast lake.

"We'll be taking the boats there," said Doddard, pointing at a small fleet of rickety looking boats that didn't look remotely seaworthy. Doddard climbed into the lead boat, however, so the first years all clambered into the wooden craft and then they were off, cruising across the jet black lake with no visible means of propulsion. The boats sailed along the coast and rounded a large rock face, bringing Hogwarts into view. The massive castle sat atop a cliff on the far side of the lake, its many turrets and towers glistening in the moonlight.

"Whoa…" Scarlett heard Jake mutter from behind her.

"Pictures just don't do it justice," Lilly whispered from Scarlett's left. "It's incredible!" Scarlett was about to reply when she felt a searing pain course through her head and a vision flashed before her eyes that could only have lasted a second, but she would remember that image for the rest of her life. The castle above her was riddled with battle damage. Fires raged from the windows and a giant bluish magical shield was flickering over the burning school with the effort of blocking the balls of magical fire that raced over Scarlett's head and splashed against it…. And then Hogwarts was back to normal. The fires were gone and the moon shone brightly behind the school again.

"Are you okay?" Lilly asked, noticing Scarlett looked rather pale.

"Fine, I'm fine, I'm just… I'm a little seasick." Scarlett replied, hoping Lilly wouldn't think about the fact that the lake was completely calm. Lilly put a comforting arm around the brunette's shoulders and kept it there until the boats gently bumped up against the stone platform inside the school boathouse. The new students all disembarked and followed Doddard up a tremendously long set of stone steps until they at last they reached a set of large oak doors.

The groundskeeper stepped up to the doors and rapped three times upon them. The doors swung open almost immediately. A very pretty young witch was striding toward them. She wore royal blue robes and her black hair bounced slightly as she walked. She came to a stop in the doorway with her hands clasped behind her back.

"The first years, Professor," said Doddard in a rather nervous voice that the first years were surprised to hear from him.

"Thank you, Doddard," said the witch kindly.

"Of course, ma'am," said Doddard, sweeping his hat off of his head and bowing to her. He then lumbered off passed her and disappeared through a door to the right.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said the witch once Doddard was gone. "My name is Professor Charity Grace, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, Head of Gryffindor House, and your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. The Sorting ceremony will begin shortly, but first I should tell you that you are attending the most prestigious school of magic in the world. Each of our school's houses have produced extraordinary witches and wizards and I'm certain each of you will be a great credit to which ever house you come to belong to. While you are within the walls of Hogwarts, your House will become a second family. You will live amongst your fellow Housemates and attend classes with Housemates of your same year.

"You would do well to remember, however, that each member of your House helps make up a whole. Good behavior and excellence in classes will earn points for your House. Breaking rules… well, clearly you will lose your House points. Your House will rise or fall together. At the end of the year, the points will be tallied and the House with the most points will be awarded the House Cup. As Head of Gryffindor House, I do hope that any of you who become Gryffindors will do your very best to ensure a Gryffindor victory this year. Now please, follow me."

Professor Grace led the first years into a vast entrance hall. A marble staircase lay directly ahead that led to the castle's many upper floors. Professor Grace, however, took them to the same door Doddard had entered which turned out to be the entrance to the Great Hall. Scarlett had heard of the Great Hall, of course, but to see it for herself was something else altogether different. A vast cathedral with four long tables at which the rest of the school sat waiting, watching the first years cross the hall by the light of a thousand candles that floated unsupported in midair and the moon itself, shining brightly down upon them from the magical ceiling above that was magically enchanted to look like the sky outside.

Scarlett's eyes, however, were drawn to the High Table at the far end of the hall where the teachers were sitting. In the very center of the table, sitting in a high backed chair, could only be Headmistress Phoebus. Professor Phoebus was an elderly witch with long gray hair tied in a neat bun behind her head. Despite her age, she seemed to almost radiate an eternal youth that resonated around her much like the magic of Hogwarts itself. Professor Phoebus sat with her fingertips together, staring at a point in the night sky above them with an expression on her face as though she could see something that the rest of them could not.

Professor Grace stopped in front of the High Table and turned to face the rest of the school. The first years all gathered together before her, all of them feeling the eyes of the hundreds of students staring at their backs. Doddard ambled through a door behind the staff table carrying a four legged stool, which he placed at Grace's side. He then sat a very ragged wizard's hat atop it and backed away, bowing to Grace once again.

"What's the hat for?" Jake whispered into Scarlett's ear. Before she could reply, a rip near the brim opened wide and the hat began to sing.

'_Fifteen hundred years ago_

_When Hogwarts was first started,_

_It was decided I would chose _

_How students would be parted_

_The Founders four created the Houses,_

_But of course you know them well,_

_The House in which you will end up_

_Is where your minds must dwell_

_Perhaps you belong in Gryffindor with the _

_Daring and brave at heart,_

_Or perhaps in Ravenclaw, amongst_

_The intelligent and smart_

_Or maybe Slytherin is more your taste _

_Where live those with great ambission,_

_Be sorted here and you will find others_

_Focused on their mission_

_But then again, perhaps it's Hufflepuff _

_Where you will discover you belong,_

_The just and loyal reside here and _

_They work hard all day long_

_This ceremony is one of old_

_Next year we'll perform it once again,_

_For this year my song is over_

_Let the Sorting now begin!'_

The hat fell silent and became still as the school broke into applause. Professor Grace retrieved a roll of parchment from inside of her robes and unfurled it.

"Branson, Hope!" She called the first name on the list. A terrified looking girl with mousy brown hair walked slowly up to Grace and sat on the stool. Grace put the hat on her head and stood back, waiting.

"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted after a few moments. The table on the far left began to clap as Hope went to join them.

"Carson, Mikayla!" called Grace and a small pale girl with deep set eyes donned the hat.

"Slytherin!" bellowed the hat seconds later. This continued on and on as the group of first years waiting to be Sorted grew smaller and smaller. Finally, Professor Grace called;

"Harcourt, Lilly!" Lilly released Scarlett's hand, something which neither girl had realized they were doing, and walked up to the stool. Grace had barely put the hat on her head when it shouted 'Gryffindor!". Lilly smiled brightly at Scarlett and Jake and hurried off to her new House table. Jake and Scarlett continued to wait, Scarlett's own nervousness now reaching an entirely new level of ferocity. She felt quite like fainting when 'Moran, Allen!' became a Ravenclaw. She knew it would soon be her turn. This turned out to be true because as Allen Mortese left to join the Ravenclaw table, Grace looked back at the list and called;

"Moreau, Scarlett!" Scarlett walked up to the stool very deeply in thought. She had truly wanted to go into Hufflepuff, not only just to please her mother. She had also been interested in Ravenclaw, if only because of her birth parents. Now, though, she wanted nothing more than to become a Gryffindor because that was the House that Lilly belonged to. It wasn't a logical desire because Scarlett didn't consider herself brave in the least. Smart, certainly. Hardworking and loyal, absolutely! But brave…? No, she didn't belong in Gryffindor at all. Grace slipped the hat onto her head and she immediately heard a low voice speaking into her ear.

"Ah, yes, now this one will be interesting, yes… The mind is incredible, that's certain. But there is a great amount of loyalty and purity of spirit as well, qualities of a Hufflepuff. How to choose, how to choose…" Desperate, Scarlett realized that the hat seemed to be able to read her mind. Maybe, just maybe...

"I have to be in Gryffindor," she thought desperately, praying the hat would understand. "I have to be in Gryffindor,"

"Gryffindor," said the hat in highly amused tones. "No offense my dear, but courage and bravery are not your best attributes. No, Ravenclaw would be your best fit I say. That's where you should be. I've never been wrong before. You still disagree? Well, so be it then, you'll get your wish. _Gryffindor_!" The hat shouted to the rest of the school and Scarlett, unable to believe her luck, dashed off to the Gryffindor table and slipped into the seat next to Lilly, who smiled widely at her.

"I thought you'd get Ravenclaw for sure!" Lilly whispered happily as 'Nelson, Ryan!' became a Hufflepuff. The Sorting went on until Jake's name was called. He joined Grace at the school and she placed the frayed hat on his head. The hat took a while to make up its mind, but at last the hat bellowed, 'Gryffindor!'. Jake slid off of the stool and bounded over to the table and fell into the seat next to Scarlett looking relieved.

The Sorting ceremony ended a few moments later when 'Sheridan, Nora!' became a Gryffindor and Professor Grace took the hat and stool away. Professor Phoebus then stood slowly to her feet and beamed around at all of them.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" She exclaimed brightly. "It is a true pleasure to see all of you here tonight. I'm certain that all of you are quite anxious to indulge yourselves in our excellent feast, but first I have a few start-of-term notices I wish to announce. Firstly, our new students... and a few of our old hands as well... should note that the dark forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Additionally, our caretaker Mr. O'Brien has asked that I once again remind you that all magic is prohibited in the corridors between classes." She paused, her eyes narrowing darkly. "Also, starting this year... the entirety of the seventh floor apart from the corridor leading to Gryffindor Tower is out-of-bounds. Anyone caught entering; attempting to enter, walking in, running through, dancing on, or eyeing suspiciously any other part of the seventh floor will be expelled without question." The entire Hall had gone if possible even quieter at this pronouncement. Professor Phoebus, however, brightened rather suddenly and said, "And now, our feast!" The golden plates that lined the four House tables filled magically with food right before the student's eyes.

Scarlett, Lilly and Jake all ate vigorously along with the rest of the Hall. Everything was very delicious. Scarlett managed to avoid anyone mentioning her parents until the plates cleared and the desserts arrived in the same way the meal had. The blonde boy who had shut the train door in Lilly's face earlier that day sat a few seats down from Scarlett with the other two boys and called out her name as she sampled a large block of strangely colored ice cream.

"So, you're really Michael and Alexandra's daughter, then?" he asked her bluntly.

"Sam, don't," said Lilly in angry tones. "She doesn't want to talk about that…"

"Actually, its okay," said Scarlett gently, turning her gaze onto the blonde boy whose name apparently was Sam. "Yes, I am their daughter. I don't know what anyone's expecting, but I'm not all that good with magic yet."

"Forgive Sam," said the blonde boy on Sam's left. "He's got about as much tact as a cardboard cutout. I'm Jace, by the way and this is our younger brother Peter," he said, indicating the boy on Sam's right. "I'm in the third year." He went on. "Pete's in the second and Sam's in the fifth. You clearly already know our baby sister."

"Yeah," said Jake. "We let her sit with us on the train,"

"Right," Jace replied. "I know that didn't give you the best first impression, but… well, it's sort of a tradition in our family. The newbie find their own seat on the train. I had to, so did Peter and Sam."

"It still wasn't very nice," said Scarlett pointedly.

"No," Jace agreed rather reluctantly. "But if we hadn't you two might never have met and you seem to be getting alone quite well, if you ask me." Scarlett couldn't argue that point. It was true that, had Jace and his brothers not locked Lilly out of their compartment, she and Lilly wouldn't have ridden on the train together, wouldn't be friends, and Scarlett herself would likely be in a completely different House. It was a long string of actions and reactions that resulted in her current situation. Choices and consequences, she supposed, had worked to place her here. Why these things had happened she couldn't even begin to guess and she didn't want to. She was thrilled with her new House and how she had gotten there didn't really interest her very much at all.

Scarlett, Jake, Lilly and her brothers got along well after that. In fact, by the time Professor Phoebus stood up from the staff table to speak again before bed, they might even have become friends… except, perhaps, for Sam. The Headmistress walked over to the podium where she had made her opening remarks and smiled widely at all of them.

"Before we all retire for the night, I would like to once again welcome our new students!" she said brightly. "Hogwarts is, truly, a wondrous place. It is full of wonder and mystery. I believe you will, in time, uncover many of it's secrets. I would, however, warn you to be careful... There are many dangers within these walls that you would do well to avoid." Professor Phoebus's gaze, which had been sweeping across the Hall as she spoke, locked directly onto Scarlett for the briefest of moments but in that moment, Scarlett couldn't help but feel that the Headmistress's last message had been meant specifically for her. Why, however, she couldn't possibly imagine.

The first years were led out of the Hall and up through the castle's many long and twisting corridors by Gregory Crowe, a sixth year and Gryffindor Prefect. At last they reached the portrait of a very pretty young girl with long, flowing brown hair. If Scarlett hadn't been so full and warm from the feast, she might have noticed the girl in the picture staring intently at her, almost as though she were trying to see _through_ her. Scarlett didn't notice this, however, and instead followed the other first years through the hole that was revealed behind the portrait as Gregory gave the password, 'Butterbeer'. Together, they made their way across the empty common room and up the stairs to their dormitories.

Tired and very sleepy, the five first year girls didn't take the time for introductions that night. Instead, they all picked out their beds and changed out of their trunks which had been brought up during the feast and climbed wearily into bed. Lilly pulled back the red and gold printed curtains on her four poster bed and watched Scarlett slip into her own bed.

"Quite a day," she said sleepily. Scarlett tilted her head to the left and smiled warmly at her new friend.

"Quite a day." she agreed.


	2. Zutharis and Balathar

-.-

**Chapter Two: Zutharis and Balathar **

-.-

Scarlett awoke with a start. She sat up in bed, breathing deeply, her heart racing and she found she was drenched from head to toe in an icy cold sweat. She had been having a dream... no, a _nightmare_. The most terrifying nightmare she could ever remember having... except as she sat alone in the dark dormitory, she realized she couldn't remember even a single detail of the dream. All she knew was that it had shaken her to her very core and she knew she had never been more scared in her entire life.

She gingerly climbed out of bed and pulled a bathrobe around herself. She walked over to the window and quietly pushed it open. She breathed in deeply, inhaling the cool night air. It was clearly almost dawn, judging by the soft pink tinge that was slowly appearing behind a snowcapped mountain range that rose up far in the distance.

Hogwarts itself was slowly revealed to Scarlett as she stood watching the sunrise. The many turrets and towers of the vast castle rose out of shadow and into dazzling daylight causing Scarlett to realize that the school was much larger and far grander than she had noticed on their short boat trip over the lake. It was clear now that Hogwarts was not just a school, but a fortress as well.

Scarlett had just begun watching as a pair of early risers made their way across the beautiful, sprawling grassy lawns toward the oval Quidditch pitch when she felt someone snake an arm around her waist and rest their chin on her left shoulder. Scarlett didn't need to ask, because in some way she couldn't begin to explain, she already knew who had snuck up behind her.

"What are you doing up so early?" Lilly asked softly, her breath tickling Scarlett's ear.

"Bad dream..." she said vaguely, not wanting to discuss it.

"Tell me," Lilly gently pressed. "Sometimes it helps... you know, to talk about dreams."

"That's the thing," Scarlett replied, now watching the two students soaring along on their broomsticks, circling the pitch at a tremendous speed. "I can't really remember anything about it... but it scared me to death."

"Well, it was just a dream," said Lilly softly. "Whatever it was, it can't hurt you. I'll protect you," Scarlett giggled at that.

"You'll protect me, will you?" she asked quietly, finally turning away from the window and coming face to face with Lilly, who was nodding sincerely. "My brave defender…"

A loud yawn and the creaking of mattress springs drew Scarlett and Lilly's attention to the four-poster bed to their left where a girl with flaming red hair had sat up in bed and was wiping her green eyes with both hands.

"'Morning," said Lilly brightly when the girl looked over at them.

"'Morning," the girl replied sleepily, rubbing her eyes again. "Close the bloody window, will you?" she asked grumpily. "It's too early for that much bright light."

"Sorry," Scarlett said quickly, tugging the window closed and drawing the red and gold curtain over it.

"Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit!" said the redheaded girl suddenly. "You're Scarlett Moreau!"

"I am," said Scarlett rather wearily. She was already getting very tired of people's reactions upon learning her name.

"That's so cool!" said the girl excitedly. "I've read all about you, of course! Well, your parents anyway. They were amazing, those two."

"I… I don't really remember them that much," said Scarlett uncomfortably.

"Oh… oh, right, of course," said the girl. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said anything, I just… Wow, this is really awkward now. Let's start over, shall we? My name's Hope, Hope Branson." She turned to Lilly, who seemed to be doing her very best to keep from laughing. "And what's your name?" When Lilly didn't answer, Scarlett gently nudged her with her elbow.

"What?" said Lilly abruptly. "Oh, sorry… I was still on the whole butt buttering thing and wasn't listening…"

"Hope, this is Lilly," said Scarlett, shaking her head exasperatedly. "She's… easily distracted by funny comments and small, shiny objects."

Together, the girls dressed and by the time the other two girls who shared their dormitory, who turned out to be twin sisters named Mandy and Maddy Matthews, finally awoke, the sun had fully risen. Scarlett, Lilly, and Hope descended the spiral staircase, crossed the common room, crawled through the portrait hole and made their way down to the Great Hall.

Jake was already there, sitting by himself at the more than half empty table. He looked up at them as they approached and smiled.

"Morning, ladies," he said brightly. "And who's this?" he asked, his gaze falling onto Hope.

"Jake, this is Hope," said Scarlett. "Hope, this is our friend, Jake."

"Is he as easily distracted as Lilly?" Hope asked playfully as they joined Jake at the table.

"Not quite," said Scarlett in highly amused tones while spooning scrambled eggs onto her plate. "It's easy to fluster him, though."

"Good morning to you too," said Jake. He pushed a sheaf of parchment across the table to them. "Did you get the class schedule yet? Professor Grace was passing them out." Lilly pulled the parchment closer and she and Scarlett leaned closer to read it.

"Ugh," said Lilly grimly. "We've got Potions after lunch. I _hate _Potions… I practiced a bit at home and I was _horrible_ at it."

"But we've got Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts before that," said Scarlett optimistically. At that exact moment, a hundred owls came soaring into the Great Hall from virtually every direction. The birds flew in wide circles while searching for their owners and then dove down to deliver their letters or parcels.

The girls, all having grown up in magical families, were not surprised by this. Jake, however, recieved the shock of his life when the birds swarmed down all around him. Scarlett's owl, Aura, swooped in as well just to put in a showing on her mistress's first day at school. She landed gingerly atop an already stunned Jake's head and hooted happily.

"Please tell me you know this bird," said Jake trying to look up enough to see the creature without unseating her. Aura suddenly squawked and took flight, cuffing Jake around the head with her wings as she flew across the table and settled onto Scarlett's shoulder. Laughing along with the other girls, Scarlett passed a piece of bread up to Aura and smiled at Jake.

"She doesn't like being called a 'bird'," said Scarlett very seriously. "Her name's Aura,"

"Well, Aura," said Jake nervously. "I... I'm sorry if I offended you, but I... I mean, well... you... You _are _a bird, but... well; I mean you're a very beautiful bird, of course! You're quite attractive and your feathers are very... evenly colored and smooth… but, you have to admit… I mean, Aura, you _are _a bird!" Aura stared at him with her wide, amber eyes for a long tense moment. She then fluttered across the table and nipped Jake rather affectionately on the ear.

"She forgives you," said Scarlett giggling. Aura soon took flight again, leaving with the other owls to nest in the Owlery. The four friends finished breakfast and headed off to their first class.

Now, Hogwarts was an old school of magic with many hidden secrets and mysteries… and it also had its own, rather twisted personality. Apart from the Grand Staircase, a massive staircase whose stairs constantly rose, fell, and turned in any number of different directions; there were also corridors that led to the Transfiguration classroom on Wednesday and to the Great Hall on Friday. There were doors that only opened if you answered a riddle they asked you or promised to return within the week and oil their hinges.

Then there were doors that called out, offering shortcuts to classroom only to take you on a long, winding trip through the castle should you go through the door and follow their directions. And then, of course, these same doors often grew tired of opening for people and pretended to be a solid wall so they wouldn't have to open at all. All of this proved to be very confusing even for veterans of Hogwarts School. For first years, it was nigh-impossible to navigate the school.

Luckily, the four young Gryffindors managed to locate the Charms classroom with only a few minutes left until the bell rang. As they queued up with their classmates, Scarlett noticed a pale girl who she remembered being Sorted the night before. She had long, straight black hair and piercing green eyes and was staring at her with what was, in Scarlett's opinion, an expression of intense dislike.

"Can I help you?" Scarlett asked when the girl didn't turn away after several minutes. The girl, who had been leaning against the stone wall further along the queue, stepped forward and approached Scarlett, flanked by twin blonde girls who both stuck to the pale girl as though she were royalty.

"You're Scarlett Moreau," said the pale girl dryly.

"I know I am," Scarlett replied. "But I'm not nearly as interesting as people around here, seem to think I…"

"I don't think you're all that interesting," said the pale girl, cutting Scarlett off. "I've grown up hearing about your parents, but you're certainly not what I expected. A witch like you, a pureblood, consorting with… with riffraff like this," she jerked her head towards Jake, who blanched.

"What's wrong with Jake?" Scarlett demanded.

"Like I can't smell a Mudblood," said the pale girl darkly.

"How _dare _you!" Hope exclaimed furiously.

"Who are you, anyway?" Scarlett asked angrily.

"Mikayla Carson," said the girl. "Not that…"

"Hold on," said Lilly suddenly. "Carson… any relation to Ghingrich Carson?"

"He's my father," said Mikayla sagely.

"Who's Ghingrich Carson?" asked Hope.

"He works for the Ministry of Magic," said Lilly darkly. "He's responsible for nearly all of the Muggleborn legislation coming about."

"All of which needs to be passed," said Mikayla loudly. "Scum like that ought not even be let into Hogwarts! Not even a single drop of magical blood and we welcome them like family!"

"Anyone should be allowed into Hogwarts," said Scarlett firmly. "Anyone, as long as they can do magic." Mikayla just shook her head.

"Change is coming to the world soon, Moreau," she said warningly. "You'd do well to decide now where your loyalties lie." Mikayla and the blonde twins walked away just as the bell rang, signaling the start of the day's classes. The door to the Charms classroom opened and a tall man appeared before them. He had shoulder-length brown hair that looked dry and quite unhealthy. His left arm was missing from the elbow down and his face was heavily lined, even though Scarlett got the impression that he was not as old as he appeared.

"Well, come in," he said gruffly in a deep, gravelly voice. The first years filed in, taking seat around the classroom. Scarlett, Lilly, Hope, and Jake found seats near the front of the class and waited. The man who had opened the door for them walked to the head of the class and turned to face them.

"Welcome," he said. "I am Professor Mercius Balathar and it is my job to teach you all the basic charms and spells you'll need in your various day-to-day lives." He didn't sound remotely happy about this. "Now, the first spell we'll be learning is a rather interesting one. It is used to make objects _fly_. It is unlikely that any of you will be successful at first, but with time and practice it can easily be done. Firstly, you must practice the incantation itself. Without wands, please… and repeat after me: _Wingardium Leviosa_."

"_Wingardium Leviosa!_" The class chanted back.

"Very good, very good," said Professor Balathar dully. Scarlett had the suspicion that the class could have said something as ridiculous as 'blibbering snorkelhats' and Professor Balathar wouldn't have even noticed. "We'll try it with wands now," Balathar continued. He pointed at a small, mousy Gryffindor boy sitting in the seat next to Jake.

"You," Balathar said loudly. "Name?"

"Er…. Robby," he boy said nervously. "Robby Papperman,"

"Fantastic," said Balathar dryly. "Go over to the cupboard over there and pass out pillows to the rest of the class." Robby did as he was told and passed out the pillows. Taking one last pillow for himself, he returned to his seat. "Good," said Balathar. "Now, you will all raise your wands and perform the following hand motion. A gentle swish and flick… try it now." The students all began swishing and flicking and after a minute or so Balathar stopped them and told them to actually attempt to cast the spell on their pillow.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!_" said Lilly flicking her wand at her pillow, which didn't move an inch. Jake's pillow on the other hand actually did move when he tried the spell, but it merely wobbled feebly and became still. Hope accidentally prodded her pillow with her wand tip, causing it to begin to smolder slightly around the edges. Scarlett raised her own wand as Robby Papperman's pillow exploded, sending bits of stuffing all over the classroom, and cried;

"_Wingardium Leviosa!_" To Scarlett's tremendous surprise, her pillow shot several feet into the air and hovered over the class's heads.

"Well, now..." said Balathar, lumbering over to where Scarlett sat, gazing bemusedly up at her pillow. "Well, that is _interesting_. Have you performed this spell before, Miss...?"

"Moreau, sir," said Scarlett nervously. "Scarlett Moreau, and no... I've never done any spells before today..."

"Hmm... a fluke, perhaps..." said Balathar idly. He snatched the pillow and placed it on the desk before her. "Try it again," Scarlett slowly raised her wand again, half hoping that the pillow wouldn't move at all.

"W... _Wingardium Leviosa!_" And once again the pillow rocketed into the air to float lazily over their heads. Balathar actually smiled as he reached for the pillow again.

"You're an interesting one, aren't you?" he said with more enthusiasm than Scarlett had heard from him yet. "Yes..." He glared around at the other students, who had stopped their own attempts at working the spell. "Put your eyes back in your heads, you sods!" he roared. "This is what the rest of you ought to aspire to!" He added, pointing at Scarlett.

By the end of the class, only a few other students had managed to successfully levitate their pillows. As the rest of the class collected their books and bags when the bell rang signaling break, Professor Balathar held Scarlett back.

"If I might speak with you a moment," he said briskly.

"Go on," she told Lilly when she looked as though she was going to stay behind as well. "I'll be right there," Lilly nodded and followed Jake and Hope from the classroom. Mikayla and her blonde companions gave Scarlett scathing looks as they passed her on their way out of the room. Scarlett ignored them. When the last student left, Balathar shut the door with a snap and turned to Scarlett, who stood near the teacher's desk, looking apprehensive.

"I want to try something else, my dear," said Balathar quietly. "You... you have a gift, child. I sense great power in you... and it is not because of your famous parents, either. No, you... you are something altogether different... something _special_." Balathar conjured up a large, thick concrete wall out of thin and hurriedly flipped through a spellbook on his desk until he found what he was looking for. "Here," he said, passing the book to her. "I want you to destroy that wall there. Use the spell in the book."

"But, sir," said Scarlett gently. "This spell... it's very advanced, there's no way that I could..."

"_Try it_!" Balathar growled. Scarlett sighed, but set the book down and raised her wand.

"_Bombarda!_" she cried. A blast of energy erupted from the tip of her wand and blew the wall to pieces. Scarlett yelped in surprise and leapt backward as bits of the wall flew in all directions.

"Excellent!" Balathar exclaimed, quite clearly very pleased. "Impressive, Scarlett… Most impressive indeed!" He took the spellbook from her and turned back to his desk. "You have great power in you, very great. Magic comes as easily to you, it seems, as breathing does to the rest of us. You are special, indeed."

"I don't want to be special…" Scarlett said quietly, more to herself than to Professor Balathar, but he heard her nonetheless.

"Being special, having the gift that you do… it is nothing to fear, my child." said Balathar consolingly. "Your ability is a very good thing. You will be a very powerful witch one day… you already are, if the truth be told. Don't fear that power, child. _Embrace it_!"

"But I… I just want to be… to be _normal_!" Scarlett exclaimed. "I… I want to… to have to study hard. Stay up late before exams and… and complain because I have to do it. I just want to be… an ordinary witch." Balathar nodded understandably.

"I know," he said warmly. "I know you do. But you've been blessed with an extraordinary gift… one many would kill for. But do not think that you will _never _have trouble with magic. What we've done here today is, in the grand scheme of things, very simple magic. Yes, you would not normally have attempted a spell like that last one until at least your third year, but it is still well below the Ordinary Wizarding Level. I wouldn't worry, child. You'll be just fine."

-.-

"What kept you? Have you been with Professor Balathar all this time?" Jake asked when Scarlett walked up to him, Lilly, and Hope where the three Gryffindors had gathered in a secluded corner of one of the castle's many courtyards.

"Yeah…" said Scarlett quietly.

"What did he want with you, anyway?" asked Lilly. Scarlett explained what had happened back in the Charms classroom. By the time she had finished, all three of them were looking at her with impressed expressions on their faces.

"I knew you belonged in Ravenclaw," said Jake knowingly. "It was obvious all along!"

"It doesn't have anything to do with intelligence," said Scarlett, shaking her head. "Balathar said that magic as easily to me as breathing does to everyone else. That's not intelligence."

"Then what is it?" asked Hope curiously. Scarlett shrugged.

"I have no idea…" The bell rang seconds later, putting an end to the conversation. Together, they wound their way back through the castle toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom where they would be learning with the Hufflepuffs. They found it with far less trouble than they did the Charms classroom and made it inside well before the bell rang.

Professor Grace was perhaps the complete and polar opposite of Professor Balathar. She entered the classroom after everyone had taken their seats with a smile on her face and greeted them all pleasantly.

"Welcome, first years, to your first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson," she said brightly. "My name, as you will already know, is Professor Charity Grace. In this class, you will learn how to defend yourselves against all forms of dark magic and powerful magical beasts. This is quite possibly the most important class you will attend during your time here at Hogwarts. This is where you will learn defensive _and _offensive spells that will be essential in preparing you in case you ever find yourself in a position where you need to defend yourself."

Professor Grace began the class by teaching them a simple shield charm called _Protego_, that would protect the caster from equally simple offensive spells. If the class had found Charms to be difficult, it was nothing compared to the stresses of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Each student would attempt to cast the shield charm while Professor Grace fired low-yield sonic spells in an attempt to shatter the shield.

Most students' shields collapsed upon a single hit. A handful absorbed the magical blast and even a couple managed to repel it completely. But when Grace cast a spell at Scarlett's shield, the spell rebounded with such force that the young teacher was blasted off of her feet and tossed haphazardly into the front of her desk. Scarlett clapped a hand to her mouth as the rest of the class gasped, many of them leaping to their feet. Scarlett rushed to Grace's side as the teacher sat up and leaned back against the desk, holding her head.

"Professor!" Scarlett exclaimed in a horrified voice. "I'm _so _sorry! I didn't mean to..." But then she noticed that Grace was smiling. A pained smile, admittedly, but a smile nonetheless.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for, Miss Moreau," said Grace. "That was quite a performance. In fact, twenty points to Gryffindor. I've _never _seen a first year put up a shield charm of that strength before. I'm impressed."

"Everyone is," said Jake quietly so that only Lilly and Hope could hear him.

-.-

When the bell finally rang indicating the lunch break, Lilly, Jake, and Hope left the classroom with Scarlett, the latter of whom hadn't uttered a single word since the accident with Professor Grace. Lilly had obviously noticed this and put her arm around the girl's shoulders.

"Hey, cheer up," said Lilly brightly. "Look at it this way, sweetie, at this rate you'll graduate by your fourth year!"

"I just don't _understand _it," said Scarlett exasperatedly. "I mean, magic's not supposed to come this easily! My dad always said how hard he had to work when he was at Hogwarts, and I'm just... I don't know..."

"Maybe you're just special," said Hope idly. Scarlett shrugged.

"Yeah," she said worriedly. "That's what I'm afraid of."

They ate a quick lunch in the Great Hall and set off early in search of the Potions classroom, which they found in one of the castle's many dungeons. Unlike the rest of the castle that they had seen so far, the Potions classroom was damp, cold, and lifeless. There was a light mist floating in the air and their breath rose up in a fog before them.

The students all set up their cauldrons and took out their potions books. Scarlett, Lilly, Jake, and Hope took a table to themselves and Lilly, looking glum, hoisted her cauldron over the fire. The door behind the teacher's desk burst open and a very tall man appeared. He had almost stark white skin and sunken gray eyes. His head was completely bald, but he had a long, pointed goatee on his chin. His dark eyes swept the classroom and the expression on his face clearly showed he wasn't happy to see any of them.

"Potions," he said by way of greeting them all to the class. "Are perhaps far more powerful than any magic you will ever learn. The sheer power of these mixtures is beyond your understanding. They are capable of incredible things… if you have the knowledge to control them. I am Professor Zutharis, the Potions Master of this school. I expect a great deal from the students under my instruction… and I will accept nothing but _perfection_."

They began with a basic Wiggenweld potion which was typically used to awaken someone from a magically-induced sleep. It was the very first class that Scarlett had trouble with. Potions, it seemed, did not come as easily as other magic. Her Wiggenweld potion was slightly too runny and wasn't quite the right shade of green, but for her first potion, she felt it was pretty good. It was at the very least better than Jake's mixture, which started emitting bright orange sparks, puffs of black smoke and several loud bangs.

By the end of the lesson, Scarlett found she hated Potions quite as much as Lilly did.

This was partly because Professor Zutharis was, in Scarlett's mind at least, an incredibly substandard teacher. He was angry, unhelpful, and rude to the students. He swept around the classroom pointing out the flaws in the student's work, but rarely offered any advice to correct their errors. Lilly said this was because he was Head of Slytherin House and therefore favored them. They had no way to know this for certain, however, because the first year Gryffindors shared Potions with the Ravenclaws, whom Zutharis treated roughly the same.

It was with a great deal of happiness that the four friends left the icy cold dungeons and made their way back up into the sprawling Entrance Hall and through the double doors into the warm, inviting Great Hall for dinner and then up the Marble Staircase, winding through the Grand Staircase and finally to their dormitories for bed.

Lilly fell asleep almost immediately and Hope followed suit soon after. Scarlett, however, lay awake, the events of the day spinning through her mind. She had a gift, she was special... she had a connection to magic that she had never suspected… and one she didn't want. The thing she didn't understand, however, was… why? She should be happy, shouldn't she? She was powerful, or at least had the ability to become quite powerful. Anyone else would be thrilled. Some, as Balathar had said, would kill for her ability. So, why was she so afraid of it? She fell asleep long before she arrived at an answer.

-.-

While the rest of Hogwarts sealed itself away for the night, Professor Phoebus was wide awake. She stood in her office watching the sun setting behind the high mountains in whose shadow Hogwarts lay. A knock at the door turned her attention back to the other two occupants of the office: Professors Balathar and Zutharis.

"Come," Phoebus called toward the door. The door opened and Charity Grace entered, looking perplexed.

"You asked to see me, Headmistress..." she broke off when she noticed the other two professors. "What's going on?"

"All of you, please sit down," said Phoebus, settling into her own chair behind her desk. "I've asked you all here tonight to discuss our newest students,"

"One new student in particular, I would imagine," said Balathar.

"Let me guess," said Grace. "Scarlett Moreau?" Phoebus's eyes narrowed.

"What do you think about Miss Moreau, Charity?" she asked curiously.

"Well, she's powerful," said Grace uncertainly. "She's very powerful. She produced a Shield Charm that knocked me flat on my ass, but…"

"I meant as a person, Charity," Phoebus interrupted. "Not as a witch,"

"Oh, well… I hardly had time to get to know her, but she… she's smart, very smart in fact. She's very beautiful… she seemed very sweet and apologized a number of times after the accident with the Shield Charm. On the whole, I quite liked her. I'm very happy to have her in my class."

"She managed to destroy a concrete wall using a spell three years more advanced that her current level," said Balathar, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, Phoebus, I'm more interested in her ability as a witch than with how pretty she is,"

"Who she is as a person is far more important than how powerfully magical she is, Mercius," said Phoebus dryly. "After all these years, I'd have thought you would have learned that by now."

"I do know that," Balathar countered. "But with this girl… I haven't encountered anyone with her abilities… not a single witch or wizard has her seemingly natural connection to magic. Phoebus… what is she?"

"She's an eleven-year-old girl, Balathar," said Phoebus sharply. "Not a tool to be used."

"I personally saw nothing particularly impressive about the Moreau girl," said Zutharis, speaking for the first time that evening. "Her talent at potion making was mediocre at best. I knew her parents and she doesn't have anywhere close to the talent they had."

"Maybe not, but she's got everything else down with any trouble," said Grace. "She's very…"

"Scared," said Phoebus darkly. "She's undoubtedly very frightened by the events of today. She's only a child, after all." She sighed very deeply. "I don't believe there's anything more to discuss tonight." She bade them all goodnight and the three teachers made to leave the office. Phoebus called Balathar back, however.

"Mercius, a moment please," she said quietly.

"Ma'am?" he asked, pausing at the door.

"Mercius, the girl… Scarlett, she's… she's very important to me," said Phoebus softly. "More seriously, she is in very grave danger."

"What sort of danger?" Balathar asked, closing the door and returning to his seat before the headmistress's desk.

"The kind I may not be able to protect her from," said Phoebus grimly. "I cannot say what shape the threat against her will take, but I do know that one day it will come. I… am not greatly concerned at the moment, but… but you are the only person I know I can trust with this… with her. I need you to help me to keep an eye on her, make sure she's safe." Balathar actually smiled.

"You've known me for many years, Phoebus," he said lightly. "Have I ever let you down?" Phoebus smiled slightly and shook her head. Balathar stood and left the office. Phoebus sighed and stood to her feet. Turning back to the window, she just managed to catch the last glimpse of sunlight as it disappeared behind the snowcapped mountains.


	3. Concerning Flight

-.-

**Chapter 3: Concerning Flight**

-.-

By the end of the very first week at Hogwarts, Scarlett and her friends were exhausted. While spells still came as naturally to Scarlett as breathing, the homework that the teachers had quickly begun setting most certainly did not. Professor Elisabeth Barrett, a stoic, elderly witch who ran the Transfiguration Department had set them an essay twenty-four inches long on the subject of accidental half-transformations. Professor Melanie Greene who taught Herbology wanted another sixteen inches on the appropriate handling and care of Bubotubers, and Chandler Calward of the Astronomy Department asked for a detailed mapping of Saturn and its many moons.

So it was with a great measure of relief when the first weekend of the term arrived. It was a very beautiful Saturday and Scarlett, Lilly, Jake, and Hope found themselves out on the grounds laying in the shade underneath a large beech tree on the edge of the Black Lake. They watched as the giant squid lazily propelled itself across the lake's glasslike surface.

"This has been the longest week... ever," Jake moaned as he stretched out on the smooth grass.

"Don't talk about it!" Lilly exclaimed, leaning back against Scarlett's chest, who in turn was leaning against the base of the tree. "I don't want to think about it." Scarlett, who had been trying to braid the blonde's hair, shoved her gently away so she could again reach her friend's hair.

"It wasn't that bad," said Hope earnestly. "Professor Greene was actually quite pleased with my essay... it was a few inches longer than she asked for, but I just found so much more to..."

"Okay, new rule!" Lilly growled. "We do not ever, under any circumstances, discuss schoolwork on the weekends. I'd like to _relax _before we've got to do it all over again come Monday."

"Right," said Hope apologetically. "Right... sorry…"

"Apology accepted," said Lilly lightly.

"Sit still!" Scarlett exclaimed exasperatedly as the blonde turned her head at the sound of the giant squid's tentacles slapping the surface of the water. "I'm almost done!"

"You've been at this for an hour, Carly," said Lilly, using the pet name she had created for her best friend a few days earlier. "How long can it take?"

"I'm doing it the Muggle way," said Scarlett with a smile. "You know, without magic. It takes a while."

"Well, just use magic!" said Lilly loudly. "You keep pulling my hair,"

"Don't be a baby," Scarlett said dryly. "I said I'm almost done," The sudden thump of a of uneven footsteps drew their attention away from the lake and up to the man walking past them from the castle.

"Hi, Doddard!" Scarlett called out to him as he neared them.

"Hello there," Doddard replied, giving all four of them a toothy smile. "Enjoyin' your weekend off?"

"Trying to," said Lilly as Scarlett once again tugged on her hair.

"Good, that's good," said Doddard. "You'll want to enjoy it while you can. I remember my time at Hogwarts and it only gets tougher from here, after all. Yes, even for you, Scarlett." Scarlett actually did pull Lilly's hair rather hard that time as she looked up at him, surprised. "Yeah, I've heard all about your performance in class. Damned impressed, I am. I knew your parents, see. Brilliant, they were and even they didn't have such natural talent."

"Did… did you go to school with them?" Scarlett asked curiously.

"Nah, I didn't," said Doddard, shaking his head. "I was already gamekeeper here when they was up at the school, but they was always coming 'round my house," He pointed out toward the massive stone wall surrounding the school and grounds and the small stone house that had been built into the wall. "I live out there, right next to the vegetable patches. It's a nice place… well built. Anyway, your mum and dad liked to drop by with a couple of their friends from time to time and nicer people you couldn't find… shame what happened to 'em, I'd…" Doddard broke off as more footsteps approached and Professor Balathar came into view. He cleared his throat and glared rather angrily at Doddard.

"Don't you have work to be doing, Gamekeeper?" he demanded. "You ought to be on your way." Doddard nodded and swept away without another word. Balathar rolled his eyes and looked down at Scarlett.

"Miss Moreau, I must see you in my office at once," he said shortly.

"Did I do something?" she asked nervously, trying to think of any school rule she could possibly have broken.

"You have not," he said, but he offered no explanation.

"Okay… I'll just…"

"Now, Miss Moreau," Scarlett nodded and leapt to her feet. "I'll see you back in the common room," she told her friends and left immediately with Professor Balathar.

-.-

Balathar didn't speak a word as they crossed the grounds and stepped through the oak front doors into the Entrance Hall. Scarlett's mind was racing, trying to think of why Balathar would want to see her privately, but came up with nothing. Perhaps her essay on Basic Color-Swapping spells had gotten a zero… She followed Balathar up through the castle, across the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and up the stairs to his office.

"Sit," said Balathar, closing the door behind him with a snap and ushering Scarlett into the chair in front of his desk. "There's no need to look so worried, girl," he added as he sank into his own seat and noticed the frightened look on the eleven-year-old's face. "You aren't in trouble. I do, however, need to speak with you privately."

"What about, sir?" Scarlett asked shakily. To not be in trouble, she certainly felt as though she were being treated like it.

"About your... special abilities," said Balathar delicately. "I've had words with Professor Phoebus about you, Scarlett. She is very impressed by you and believes, as I do, that special classes may be in order."

"Special classes?" Scarlett repeated anxiously. "What sort of special classes?"

"Classes where you will learn spells beyond your current level," said Balathar. "I will instruct you privately and we will learn precisely how easily more advanced spells will come to you."

"So... private lessons... in addition to regular classes?" Scarlett asked incredulously. Their current workload was already tremendous.

"It _will_ add to your already busy schedule," Balathar admitted. "But I believe this will only serve to further enhance your abilities. It is your choice, of course, but I urge you to seriously consider this. The benefits would be well worth the time and effort."

"Oh... oh, alright then," said Scarlett.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Balathar. "We'll begin Monday evening after your last class. I look forward to these lessons, my child. You are... truly something of a wonder to me, I must admit. It has been some time since I've encountered someone with your... talents." Scarlett wasn't sure what to say to that, so she simply bid Balathar goodbye and left the office. Balathar watched her go with narrowed eyes and he sighed deeply as the door closed.

"Yes, dear girl... You truly are something of a wonder."

-.-

"What are you still doing up?" Lilly asked her best friend when she found Scarlett sitting by herself in the common room very early on Monday morning.

"Nothing..." Scarlett muttered, looking up from the blazing fire she had been staring into. "I... couldn't sleep."

"Bad dreams again?" Lilly asked, falling onto the sofa beside her. Scarlett shrugged.

"No, just a... a bad feeling," she said shaking her head. "It's like... something's about to happen... something bad, but... but that's ridiculous because... because I can't sense something like that, I..."

"Why couldn't you?" Lilly asked interestedly. "I mean you're already superwitch, why can't you be... what's it called? A psychic?"

"Because it would just be... too much!" Scarlett exclaimed, tears now shining in her eyes. "Really? Me, a Seer, on top of everything else?"

"It's okay, sweetie," Lilly whispered, pulling her friend into a warm embrace. "It was just a thought, I didn't mean to upset you, I just..."

"I'm scared, Lil," Scarlett said in such a small, frightened voice that it broke Lilly's heart. "I... I don't know what I am... I don't know... I don't... I just don't know..."

"_I_ know," said Lilly firmly. She reached out and put her hand under Scarlett's chin, forcing the other girl to meet her eyes. "You're amazing, Carls. You're a brilliant witch and a beautiful person... and you're the best friend I've ever had... which is saying something considering I've only known you for a week."

"I feel like there's something wrong with me," Scarlett confessed in a terrified whisper. "Like I'm... like there's something else inside of me... something I can't control. Balathar said that I'm 'something of a wonder to him'."

"And you undoubtedly are," said Lilly gently. "Spells don't generally come that naturally people, but that doesn't mean that there's something wrong with you. I'd say it means you're just..."

"If you say 'special', I'm going to..."

"What?" asked Lilly, a small, playful smile appearing on her face. "You're going to what? What are you going to do, Moreau?"

"I'll... I'll thump you... or something..." said Scarlett uncertainly. "I'll..."

"You'll 'thump' me?" Lilly repeated incredulously. "Seriously, that's the best you've got?"

"Well, I'm sorry but I'm not good at threatening people," said Scarlett grumpily.

"No, you're too sweet for it," said Lilly with a grin. "And too girly and weak to back it up."

"I'm... not sure whether to be flattered or insulted." said Scarlett darkly, but she was smiling. Just being with Lilly had a way of making her feel better.

"How about you decide in the morning?" asked Lilly with a wide yawn. "I'm exhausted."

"You go on up," said Scarlett quietly. "I'll be up in a few minutes." Lilly nodded and slipped off of the couch and shuffled over to the stairs. She sighed just before she mounted the first step. She turned around and sat back down on the sofa.

"I'll stay," she said softly.

-.-

Scarlett awoke the next morning feeling so warm and comfortable that she didn't have any desire to move. As minutes passed, she suddenly became aware of a soft tinkling sensation on her nose. She managed to force her eyes open and was met with the strangest of sights; long strands of gold blocking her sight. She blinked a few times and realized that the strange golden strands were actually Lilly's hair.

Scarlett slowly sat up and discovered that she and her blonde best friend seemed to have fallen asleep together on the couch in the common room. Sunlight was now streaming through the windows, flooding the common room with early morning light. The rest of Gryffindor Tower seemed to be quiet. It appeared that the rest of the House was sleeping in that Sunday morning.

Lying back down, Scarlett smiled at the still-sleeping form of her best friend who rolled over and snaked her arms securely around the brunette and sighed happily.

"You snore," Scarlett said softly. "You know that, right?"

"I do not," Lilly whispered in reply, startling Scarlett who hadn't been expecting a response.

"Oh, sorry sweetie," said Scarlett apologetically. "Did I wake you up?"

"A little," said Lilly. "But it's okay... I kind of liked waking up like this. My sister and I used to sleep like this all the time, but now that I've gone to Hogwarts I've felt a little... strange."

"Do you need me to hold you every night, then?" Scarlett asked playfully. "Make you feel like you're back home?" Lilly smiled.

"Actually, this is better than home," she admitted. "My sister, Nola, she kicks in her sleep. I've still got a few bruises..."

"So, I suppose Nola's a witch too?" Scarlett asked interestedly.

"Yeah, she is," said Lilly. "She's a year younger than me, though, so she'll be coming to Hogwarts next year.

"Well, that'll be..." Scarlett began, but she paused as a jingling noise sounded from the far side of the room. Looking up over the back of the sofa, the girls saw a new message appearing in a shower of golden sparks on the House notice board. Curious, the girls slid off of the sofa and padded across the common room to the board.

"'Basic Flying Lessons,'" Lilly read the headline. "Eight o'clock this morning on the Quidditch pitch,"

"Have you ever flown before?" Scarlett asked the blonde interestedly.

"Oh yeah," said Lilly brightly. "Loads of times, actually. My family's got a lot of land and we live well away from Muggles so we can fly whenever we'd like. That's not to say I'm particularly any good, but... well... I _was_ thinking about trying out for the House team next year..."

"Go for it," said Scarlett encouragingly. "You might make it on the team,"

"I suppose," said Lilly with a shrug. "I've got a whole year to think about it. First years aren't allowed to play anyway, so I'll..." The sound of footsteps and the murmur of voices in the dormitories above them told them that the rest of the House appeared to have awoken at last. Jake and Hope met Lilly and Scarlett in the common room, where the two girls showed their friends the notice about flying lessons.

"Ooooh," said Jake excitedly. "I've been waiting for this!"

"Looking forward to it, are you?" asked Lilly as the four of them made their way down to breakfast.

"Well, _yeah_!" Jake exclaimed.

"My dad won't let me near a broom," said Hope forlornly. "I've been hoping for a flying class as well,"

"What about you, Scarlett?" Jake asked curiously. "Excited for the flying lessons?"

"Not really," said Scarlett as they entered the Great Hall and found seats at the Gryffindor table. "I've flown before and I... well, let's just say I'd rather keep my feet firmly on the ground if you don't mind."

"Well, it's an optional course," said Hope. "You don't have to take it."

"She'll take it," said Lilly, buttering herself a biscuit.

"And what makes you say that?" Scarlett asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Because I'll drag your cute butt out there if you refuse," said Lilly grimly. "I need the moral support, sweetheart. What, am I supposed to depend on these two? Miss Happy-Go-Lucky and Nervous Nelly over here?"

"You're not a nice girl," said Hope, spooning eggs onto her place.

"I want to know which one's Nervous Nelly," said Scarlett conversationally. Lilly smirked and jerked her head in Jake's direction.

"You really had to ask?"

"Why am I friends with you again?" Jake asked the blonde.

"Because I'm one of the only people who'll give you the time of day around here," Lilly retorted.

"I could find other friends," said Jake defiantly.

"Really?" Lilly asked curiously. "So, out of curiosity then, why, if you're _so capable_ with the social graces, was your first pick three girls? I mean, you're just asking for trouble."

"Or not," said Hope objectively. "I mean, think about it. You're surrounded by three girls all the time. Some people would find that to be a good thing."

"Just as long as he doesn't get any funny ideas," said Lilly sharply.

"Yeah," said Scarlett with a playful smile. "I've suddenly got this mental image of us in our fifth year and Jake's trying to pimp us out."

"He _does _fit the profile," Lilly agreed.

"_What _profile?" Jake demanded, but Lilly simply smirked. "Seriously," he asked, turning to Scarlett. "What profile?" But Scarlett didn't reply either. Her attention had been drawn to the staff table, where Professors Phoebus and Balathar sat together speaking quietly. Perhaps it was her imagination, she wasn't particularly good at reading lips, but she could have sworn she saw Phoebus's mouth form her name at least twice.

Whatever the pair had been discussing, it appeared they had reached an end to it because Professor Phoebus soon swept from the staff table and made her way out of the Great Hall. Balathar remained at the table, sitting in silence. Unless Scarlett's imagination was working overtime, she was completely positive that Balathar's gaze was flickering toward her far more often than was normal.

The secretive conversation that might have had something to do with her was driven swiftly from her mind, however, as she and the other Gryffindor first years made their way out of the Hall after breakfast and out toward the Quidditch pitch. It was a beautiful day. The sky was clear and the air crisp and cool as they walked across the wide, sloping lawns toward the pitch.

It wasn't until the four friends were inside the pitch and approached the other assembled students and noticed the all too familiar backs of Mikayla and her blonde cronies, whose names had turned out to be Kara and Katrina Rodenaar, that they realized they must be sharing these lessons with the Slytherins.

"Fan-bloody-tastic," said Lilly grimly. "Why is it that every class I'm nervous about is one we've got to take with these..." Lilly called the Slytherins something that made Scarlett's jaw drop.

"_Lilly!_" Hope exclaimed, but the blonde ignored her. They didn't have any more time to contemplate the Slytherins because at that moment a middle-aged wizard on a very shiny broomstick soared out of the sky and landed before them. He dismounted the broom, swept his fingers through his tousled, auburn hair and smiled roguishly at them.

"Welcome to your first flying lesson!" the wizard said in the same tone one might use when telling someone they had just won the lottery. "I'm Burbary Chase, former Keeper for the England International Quidditch team, four-time World Cup champion, and your instructor today. You are all _very _lucky to have me as your teacher! My years of flying experience will benefit you all greatly!"

"Bit full of himself, isn't he?" Scarlett heard Mikayla mutter to her blonde friends. Loathe as she was to admit it, Scarlett happened to agree with her. However, Professor Chase proved to be as skilled a flyer and as excellent a teacher as he claimed to be. In fact, by the halfway point of the lesson, Chase had them all flying in laps around the Quidditch pitch although they were only hovering a few feet above the grassy field.

"See, I told you you'd be great," Lilly told Scarlett, hovering alongside her and nudging her in the ribs with her elbow.

"Yeah... right..." said Scarlett distractedly, peering down at the ground below her. "I just don't like being so... high..." Lilly arched her eyebrows.

"High?" she repeated. "Carly, it's only four feet."

"And if I fell off I could easily break my neck!" Scarlett retorted. Lilly grinned.

"I want to show you something," she whispered. "Close your eyes."

"Say what now?" Scarlett asked, looking up at Lilly with wide eyes. "I'm barely staying on this thing with my eyes _open_!"

"You'll be fine," said Lilly. "Just close your eyes."

"I don't want to,"

"Just close them..."

"NO!"

"Carly..." Scarlett rolled her eyes at her blonde best friend and sighed.

"Oh, fine..." she muttered, peering down once again with a terrified expression on her face. Finally, she let her eyes fall slowly closed. She felt Lilly's hand cover her own on the broomstick handle. The broom shifted and Scarlett gasped, but Lilly squeezed her hand and she calmed.

"Okay," Lilly said at last. "Open..." Scarlett's eyes fluttered open and she gasped once again. Lilly had tandem-flown them high above the Quidditch field and they were now floating side-by-side above the highest section of the stands. The school grounds sprawled out before them, the grass shining brightly in the afternoon sunlight. The castle itself was covered in shadow from a cloudbank that was rolling in from across the Black Lake.

"Oh, _Lilly_..." Scarlett breathed as the clouds slowly, inch-by-inch, blocked out the rays of early afternoon sun, casting the grounds and the pitch itself into darkness.

"I knew you'd like it," Lilly said with a smile. "You know, I actually thought about..." But whatever Lilly had been thinking about, Scarlett didn't find out. A scream rent the peaceful air, causing both girls to turn in the direction of the noise. It didn't take long for them to notice the cause of scream. Professor Chase, who had been circling the pitch from around the same height Lilly and Scarlett now hovered at while he watched the class's progress, had fallen from his broom.

Chase's body fell limply toward the grassy field, his abandoned broom drifting slowly away from the pitch. Neither girl knew what caused them to do it, but before either of them knew it, both of them were rocketing toward the falling figure of their teacher. It was clear to both of them, however, that they wouldn't reach him in time.

Scarlett suddenly jerked to a halt while Lilly pelted by her. She plunged her hand into her robes and seized her wand. Pointing it at Chase, she cast the first spell that came to mind.

"_Aresto Momentum!_" She shouted. A wave of pale light burst from her wand tip and engulfed Professor Chase, who slowed in his fall. Lilly was upon him seconds later and caught him before he hit the ground. Scarlett flew to Lilly's side and together they lowered Chase onto the field and leapt from their brooms.

"What's wrong with him?" Lilly asked as Scarlett checked his pulse.

"He's alive," Scarlett confirmed. She was very pale. "C'mon," she said in a slightly stronger voice. "Let's get him up to the hospital wing."

-.-

"It was a heart attack," said Professor Grace as she approached the Gryffindor table where the students who had been in that day's flying lesson were seated. The Slytherins had all returned to their common room. "Madam Morrison's treating him now. Professor Chase is going to be just fine..." she nodded toward Lilly and Scarlett. "All thanks to the pair of you," she added warmly. "I would seem our dear flight instructor owes you both his life. I believe that's worth a bit of a reward." Both girls eyes widened in surprise. "Fifty points apiece, I would say. Very well done, girls, very well done indeed,"

"And you're sure Professor Chase will be okay?" Hope asked nervously. Grace smiled.

"Oh, yes," she said confidently. "Yes, he'll be back to work in no time. Magical medicine is capable of many remarkable things." She nodded and walked away.

"Whoa..." said Jake in an awed sort of voice. "There's never a boring day around this place, is there?"

"At least it keeps life interesting," said Lilly with a shrug.

"Too interesting," said Hope grimly. "I'm turning in early. See you three at breakfast." She stood and left the Hall.

"That's not a bad idea," said Scarlett. "I think I'll join her... figuratively speaking, that is," She glanced at Lilly. "You coming?" Lilly shrugged.

"I might as well," she sighed. "If I stay I've only got Jake to talk to, and... well... why torture myself."

"What did I ever do to you?" Jake implored her. She shrugged again.

"What can I say?" she said. "It's fun messing with you." She stood and traced Hope's path out of the Hall. Scarlett smiled apologetically at Jake and followed her up the Marble Staircase to bed.


	4. The Secret on the Seventh Floor

-.-

**Chapter Four: The Secret on the Seventh Floor**

-.-

Monday morning dawned dark and dreary. A strong storm front had blown in overnight, drenching the castle in pouring rain. The downpour outside only served to further depress the already overworked first years, and by the end of the day, Scarlett and her friends were already thoroughly exhausted. And while the others planned on returning to the common room for a relaxing evening after dinner, Scarlett had her special lessons Balathar to attend.

Bidding her friends goodbye, Scarlett crawled out of the portrait hole and set off down the corridor toward the Grand Staircase. As she walked, she realized it was the first time she had been out of bed this late at night on her own. In fact, it was well after curfew, but Balathar had seen to it that she had special permission to be out and about for their lessons.

The castle was very dark and quite spooky so late in the evening, and Scarlett found herself looking nervously over her shoulder as she walked. Suddenly, one of the many doors that lined the corridor to Gryffindor Tower snapped closed. Scarlett practically jumped out of her skin and clapped a hand to her chest. Although her heart was racing and she was scared out of her mind, her curiosity was too strong to resist.

Knowing she was supposed to be meeting Professor Balathar, she eased toward the door that had closed so suddenly and cautiously pressed her ear up against it. She couldn't hear anything, but someone _must _be inside. The door had closed, after all... unless doors could close themselves, which wouldn't have come as a surprise to Scarlett if they could.

Carefully, she reached for the knob and tried to turn it, but it was locked. She sighed, defeated, and continued on to the Grand Staircase. She got turned around as she tried to climb the constantly moving staircase, but a last she arrived at Balathar's classroom. She knocked gently on the door.

"Enter," Balathar called. Scarlett opened the door. Balathar stood in front of his desk with his arms folded across his chest. He stared unblinkingly at her as she approached, his black eyes locked onto her as though he were studying her in far more detail than was appropriate.

"Sit," he said when she reached him, pointing toward one of the empty desks. Scarlett sank into the chair and crossed her legs, having rarely felt as nervous as she did in that moment.

"You truly are remarkable," he said idly, still gazing at her in that searching way, his eyes running up the full length of her body. "I can see the power radiating out of you, the... the pure magical energy coursing through you. It is wild, uncontrolled, but it is there in levels I could never have predicted. You, Scarlett, are more powerful and perhaps more dangerous than any witch or wizard to have ever lived."

"I... I don't want that kind of power," Scarlett said weakly. "I... I'm scared."

"And that's why I'm here," said Balathar in a far warmer voice than she had ever expected of him. He moved around her and sat down in the seat next to her. "I'm here to help you understand your power, Scarlett. Being scared, quite frankly, is natural. I would be surprised if you weren't. So much has been heaped upon you so quickly and it isn't fair. I want to help you ease into this."

"What if... what if I would just rather not learn any of this?" Scarlett asked. "What if I just don't want to be... special?"

"You don't have a choice, my dear," Balathar said gently, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Not learning how to control your abilities would be far too dangerous. Listen, it isn't as though anyone will be looking to you to be... well, some sort of hero charging off to overthrow evil. Powerful or not, you're only an eleven-year-old girl and your place is here at Hogwarts. You may well be powerful, but you're in no danger here."

"Can... can I tell you something?" Scarlett asked in a very quiet voice. "Something... personal?" Balathar nodded.

"Of course," he said kindly.

"You've met Mr. Ollivander, right?" she inquired. "The wandmaker?"

"Well, certainly," said Balathar. "Everyone has!"

"Right, well... well, he told me that another witch bought a wand identical to mine years and years ago and both she and the wand went on to do incredible things... He said I was, well... _special_." Balathar considered her for a long moment.

"Well, you _are _special," he said at last. "And you may well go on to do incredible things as well. But that doesn't mean you'll be expected to overthrow empires and challenge kings. It simply means that your life in the magical world will be far easier than most. This is a good thing for you, Scarlett. It certainly isn't anything to fear. Now, how about we get started?"

Professor Balathar began was the Disarming Charm, _Expelliarmus_, which Scarlett managed to perform without any trouble. Balathar's wand flew out of his hand and landed at the feet of a very surprised Scarlett.

"_Very _well done," Balathar praised as he collected his wand. "Very well done, indeed." He paused, considering her with slightly narrowed eyes. "Truth be told, we could spend weeks slowly working our way up to find out at what level this inherent ability dwindles away, but perhaps it would be more prudent to work in the opposite direction. I am going to teach you a spell that is well beyond the Ordinary Wizarding Level. You know what dementors are, yes?"

"The guards of Azkaban prison," Scarlett replied slowly. "Of course I've heard of them,"

"Truly foul creatures, dementors," said Balathar. "They feed on hope, happiness and joy. But we have long ago developed a method of defending against them. The spell I will attempt to teach you is called the Patronus Charm. Once conjured, a proper Patronus will drive away a dementor... but this is a spell that many fully grown wizards have trouble with. If you can perform this spell as easily as all of the others, I truly don't believe that your abilities have a ceiling at all." Scarlett swallowed hard.

"Now, I don't have a dementor for you to practice on, nor would I subject a first year student to the horrors of a dementor. So, we'll just be working to see if you can produce a Patronus at all."

"Okay," Scarlett said nervously. "What do I do?"

"Well, firstly you must concentrate with all of your might on a single, very happy memory. This memory will provide the power for your Patronus. Without a powerful memory, a Patronus cannot be formed. Now, do you have a memory?"

"Okay..." said Scarlett, settling on the memory of her eleventh birthday back in August when she was finally old enough to come to Hogwarts. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Very good," said Balathar. "Now for the incantation. _Expecto Patronum_."

"_Expecto Patronum_," Scarlett repeated.

"Excellent," praised Balathar. "Now, focus on that happy memory and try the spell." Scarlett let out a long breath and gripped her wand firmly. Forcing her mind to focus on that happy feeling she remembered from a month earlier, she closed her eyes.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" she shouted and much to her surprise, and great relief, nothing happened.

"Again," said Balathar firmly.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" And again, nothing happened. Balathar's eyes narrowed.

"Hmm..." he said thoughtfully. "Perhaps the memory you've chosen isn't strong enough. It must be a very powerful memory. Select another and try again. Scarlett thought long and hard and finally settled on Lilly. Not a particular memory of Lilly, but simply her feelings for the blonde girl. Taking a deep breath, she raised her wand.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" If there were ever an anti-climactic moment, it was that one. Not even a wisp of white smoke escaped Scarlett's wand. Half relieved, half disappointed, Scarlett looked up at Balathar, who was staring at her with narrowed eyes.

"Excellent," he said brightly, surprising Scarlett who had expected him to be upset. "We have a basis to start from and I know to limit our lessons to spells lower than the Patronus Charm. This will help us progress more quickly." He paused and glanced at the clock. "It's getting late, so I think we'll leave it here for tonight. We will meet again tomorrow at the same time." Scarlett nodded and turned to leave.

"Professor," she asked, pausing at the doorway.

"Yes?" asked Balathar, moving to extinguish remaining candles.

"I was just wondering..." she said nervously. "Why is the seventh floor out-of-bounds?" Balathar considered her for a long moment before putting out the last candle, plunging the classroom into darkness.

"Suffice to say, my dear, that the seventh floor is out-of-bounds because there is something immensely powerful locked away there."

"So... you're keeping something important up there? Something powerful... is it dangerous?" Scarlett asked. Balathar simply smiled and Scarlett knew she would get no straight answers. "Right," she said with a shrug. "'Night, Professor."

"Goodnight, Scarlett,"

-.-

Scarlett wound her way back up through the many passages of Hogwarts and at last found herself on the seventh floor corridor. She stopped when she got there, her eyes scanning the doors that lined the corridor. All of them were closed. Keeping her eyes locked firmly on the portrait of the Brown-Eyed Girl at the end of the corridor, Scarlett strode to the portrait and gave the password. The picture frame swung forward to admit her and she crawled inside without so much as a backwards glance at the corridor behind her.

The common room was dark and quiet as she crossed it, her mind firmly focused on collapsing into bed. A gentle groan from the area of the couch caught her attention, however, and she went over to investigate. Lilly lay on the sofa, quite clearly fast asleep. Smiling slightly, Scarlett made her way over and dropped to her knees beside her oblivious best friend and softly ran her finger across the girl's neck.

"Geroff!" Lilly exclaimed sleepily, waving her arms over her head. Scarlett ducked down behind the sofa as Lilly sat up and looked around. "Dream..." she lay back down and promptly fell asleep again. Giggling madly, Scarlett crawled back over to Lilly and this time brushed a strand of her dark hair over the blonde's nose. Lilly jerked awake again, nearly head butting Scarlett in the process.

"Bloody hell, Carly!" Lilly exclaimed, holding a hand to her chest. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"No," said Scarlett, who was still chortling. "The opportunity was just to perfect. Besides, it's been a... long day. I needed a laugh."

"How was the lesson with Balathar?" Lilly asked, sitting up on the sofa and patting the spot next to her. Scarlett sank onto the couch beside her and rested her head on the other girl's shoulder.

"I... don't know," she admitted. "Okay, I guess..." Scarlett explained what had happened during the lesson, as well as Balathar's comment about what may lay somewhere on the seventh floor.

"Well, it's not like we should be worrying about it anyway," said Lilly. "Whatever the teachers are keeping, if they're really keeping anything at all, well... I mean, it couldn't be _dangerous_. This is a school, after all."

"Yeah, right, I know that, I just... I just want to go to bed." She jerked her head toward the staircase. "C'mon," Scarlett and Lilly made their way upstairs and fell into their respective beds. Scarlett was almost asleep before Professor Phoebus's voice filled her sleepy mind.

"_There are many dangers within these walls that you would do well to avoid._" Scarlett couldn't help but wonder if one of them happened to rest just outside of Gryffindor Tower.

-.-

It turned out that Jake and Hope took to Lilly's line of thought on the subject of the seventh floor when Scarlett told them about what she had seen and what Balathar had told her the night before.

"We've got enough to worry about with all the homework we've got," said Jake as the four of them sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table. "Whatever's on the seventh floor... I _highly _doubt it's anything dangerous."

"Besides, the teachers know what they're doing," Hope put in. "Even if there is something dangerous up there, the teachers wouldn't let it hurt us." Scarlett wasn't convinced, but it was clear that she wasn't going to change her friend's minds, so she dropped it.

Scarlett didn't have much time to worry about whatever the teachers might be hiding on the seventh floor over the following week. With the ever-increasing piles of homework they were receiving and her private lessons with Balathar, the seventh floor mystery was the least of Scarlett's worries. As September faded into October and the Forbidden Forest turned into a field of autumn colors, Scarlett and Lilly decided, firmly against Jake's dire warnings, to take a Saturday off from homework and chose to spend what might well be the last warm day that year outside sitting under their favorite beech tree by the lake.

"We've got to do this more often," said Lilly contentedly, taking in a deep breath and tilting her head to her left, toward Scarlett.

"Agreed," said Scarlett happily. "Every Saturday. I don't care how much homework we've got to do."

"You know, Grace is gonna be pissed about that essay," said Lilly blissfully. "I'm still nine inches short and my writing's _huge_."

"I thought you said we couldn't talk about schoolwork on our time off." Scarlett reminded her gently.

"Yeah, well..." Lilly muttered. "It's not like I... Oh, hi Doddard!" she called out to the groundskeeper as he trudged passed them.

"'Ello there, Lilly," said Doddard. "Scarlett. How've you two been gettin' on?"

"Just fine," said Lilly pleasantly. "We're just taking the weekend off from homework,"

"We'll it's a fine day to be doin' that," Doddard replied. "You girls enjoy yourselves, now. Say, you two wouldn't want to come 'round my house would you? I was just thinkin' about makin' a cup o' tea and I'd welcome the company." Lilly and Scarlett were both up for it, so they gathered the blanket they'd been laying on and followed Doddard across the lawn to the castle wall where the gamekeepers house had been built.

The massive stone wall, built many centuries before to fight a long-forgotten war, was more than thirty feet thick and towered high over them. Built into the wall was the front of a small house. A door, two windows, and a torch bracket were the only things that distinguished the house from the rest of the wall that surrounded it.

"You'll have to forgive the mess," said Doddard as he retrieved a set of keys and unlocked the door. "It's rare I have guests," He pushed the door open and let them in. To have been built into a stone wall, Doddard's house was nice and quiet spacious. They stood in a sitting room with a sofa, several chairs and a fireplace. A kitchen lay behind a wall directly ahead of them and a dark hallway to the right led off into a number of other rooms that neither Lilly nor Scarlett could see.

"Well, have a seat you two," said Doddard, motioning toward the sofa. "I'll go an' make tea." Doddard went off into the kitchen while Lilly and Scarlett settled themselves onto the sofa. As they sat there, the largest cat either girl had ever seen came slinking out of the hallway and leapt lightly onto the couch, stretched, and promptly curled up in Lilly's lap while purring quite contentedly.

"Looks like you've got a new friend," said Scarlett with a grin, watching a Lilly lifted her right hand to stroke the massive cat's silky black fur.

"Oh, that's Wombat," said Doddard, returning to the sitting room and placing a kettle and three mugs on the small table in front of the sofa.

"You named your cat Wombat?" Lilly asked incredulously. Wombat looked up reproachfully at her and swatted her arm with his thick tail.

"He doesn't like when people make fun of his name," Doddard pointed out, pouring the girls tea before taking a sip of his own.

"No offense," said Lilly gently. "I've just never... It's just not the name I'd have picked for him, that's all." Wombat hissed furiously and leapt out of Lilly's lap, stretched again and sprawled out across Scarlett's lap instead.

"He picked the name out himself," said Doddard dryly. Lilly and Scarlett exchanged a brief glance.

"So, Doddard," said Scarlett, hoping to replace the uncomfortable conversation with what she knew might well be another one, but it was something that had been bothering her for weeks. "When Professor Balathar came up when we were talking under the beech tree a few weeks ago... well, we all though he was really rude to you, and I've been wondering... well,"

"You're thinkin' there's some bad blood between the two of us," Doddard finished Scarlett's question for her. Doddard sighed deeply. "Yeah, well, I suppose there is a bit... and I guess in a way... it's about you." Scarlett's eyes widened.

"_Me_?" Scarlett asked in a disbelieving voice. "What... what did _I_ do?"

"It's nothing you did, darlin'," said Doddard kindly. "It's who you are. Your mother's daughter, I expect. You see, years ago when your mum and dad were up at the school, Balathar developed a... well, how can I put this? He developed an _inappropriate _interest in your mother."

"An 'inappropriate interest'?" Scarlett repeated. Doddard shook his head.

"It's not what you're thinkin'," he said. "Well, it didn't start out like what you're thinkin' anyway. No, he… saw somethin' in your mother. Somethin' she didn't see in herself, that's for sure. She was his favorite student from day one and he didn't hide the fact, either."

"If that doesn't sound familiar…" said Lilly idly.

"Shush," said Scarlett.

"Well, you've got a point there, Lilly," said Doddard. "Balathar's relationship with Sara started off much like his relationship with you. He often invited her to his classroom in the evenings to tutor her…"

"So… so my mother… she had what I have? I mean, she was gifted when it came to magic, or…"

"Oh, no," said Doddard, shaking his head. "No, no, no, she wasn't anythin' like you. I don't think there's ever been a wizard alive quite like you, dear. But, no your mother was obviously very smart. Her skill with magic and her level of intelligence was practically unmatched… but it was all book-smarts. Everythin' she knew, she learned. Not like with you… you're just…"

"Special," said Scarlett dryly. "Yeah, I know."

"Well, there's nothin' wrong with bein' special," said Doddard. "Well, nothin' 'cept it draws attention to you."

"I still don't see how this has anything to do with me," said Scarlett uncertainly.

"Well, I'm getting' there," said Doddard. "You see, your mum and dad were always close friends at school. Met on the train, as I recall. Anyway, after they left school your mum and Balathar kept in contact… they still maintained a close relationship. But then your mum and dad started datin', and well… I think Balathar got a little jealous."

"So, Balathar was interested in Scarlett's mum?" Lilly inquired.

"Oh, I know he was," said Doddard firmly. "The problem was, dear, that your mum returned his feelings. Your mum and dad eventually got married, of course, but just before they did… your mum and Balathar… well, they… they had a bit of an affair." Scarlett and Lilly's jaws dropped.

"They did… they had… But why would..." Scarlett babbled. "I… I don't understand…"

"I can't say I know the how's and why's, Scarlett," Doddard said delicately. "But I caught 'em… both of 'em, comin' out of Balathar's office. I heard enough to get what had happened and I later confronted Sara about it. She confessed and begged me not to say anything to Michael. I… I didn't know what to do. Mike had been my friend for years, I… well, then I found out that Sara was pregnant." And then the pieces came together.

"Are... are you saying... Is there a chance that Balathar is my father?" Scarlett asked, barely able to believe she had spoken the words. Doddard gave her a warm smile.

"Oh, no child, no," he said gently. "No, your parents confirmed that Mike was your true father, but before they did Balathar firmly believed you were his. That's when I stuck my nose into it. I knew there was a least a chance that you might be Balathar's daughter, so I... I did what I felt was right. I told Mike what I'd seen... what Sara had done.

"Now, you won't know this Scarlett, but Mike had a real short fuse. And naturally, he was furious. He stormed off in a rage, right up to the castle and... well, he and Balathar got in quite the fight. Wands were drawn, and well... Balathar ended up losing his arm."

"So Balathar blames you for losing his arm?" Lilly asked incredulously.

"Yes," Doddard replied grimly. "And, in a way, for taking his daughter from him. When he heard Sara was pregnant, he... he was happy." He broke off, gazing into Scarlett's stunned face. "He truly cared for your mother, and for you, Scarlett." He sighed deeply. "I know when you asked me that question that you had no idea where it would lead. I have little doubt that Balathar wouldn't have wanted me to tell you, but I... Well, you asked."

-.-

"Come," Balathar called when Scarlett rapped on his office door later that evening. She opened the door and stepped inside. Balathar looked up from behind his desk and smiled.

"Ah, Scarlett," he said pleasantly. "I'm glad you're here. I've just been working on our next lesson. I was thinking... What's wrong?" he asked when he noticed the grim look on her face. Slowly, Scarlett approached Balathar's desk and sank down into the chair in front of it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked succinctly. Balathar's eyes narrowed.

"Why didn't I tell you... what, exactly?" he asked.

"Why didn't you tell me about you and my mother," she explained. "That you had an affair with her... that you thought you were my father... that you felt like you lost a daughter when you found out the truth." Scarlett sighed. "Is... is that why you're doing all this? These late-night lessons? So you can... get close to me or something?"

"I'm doing this because I firmly believe you may well be the most powerful witch to have ever lived in the history of magic," Balathar said firmly.

"That doesn't answer my question," Scarlett said angrily. "I deserved to know the truth and I had to learn it from Doddard!"

"So, he told you?" Balathar asked slowly.

"He did," said Scarlett. "He also said that you blame him for my dad blowing your arm off or whatever he did to you." Balathar stood up and walked around his desk. Judging by the look on his face, for one wild moment Scarlett thought he might hit her. But he did not. Instead, he knelt down in front of her and took her hand in his.

"I must apologize," he said softly. "You… you're right, I should have told you. I just thought… well, it was so long ago and you already had so much going on that I… I didn't want to add this to the list. I didn't think it mattered that much; I didn't think you would care."

"I… don't," Scarlett muttered. But she did. She cared a very great deal. She had found someone, someone who wasn't her mother or her father that she could talk to about her birth parents… someone who had known both of them.

"You do," said Balathar plainly. "If you didn't, you wouldn't have reacted so rashly. It was never my intention to deceive you, and these lessons are nothing more than what I have presented them as. I will not lie to you, Scarlett. I do… care for you, perhaps more than I should… more than I have any right to." He paused and smiled warmly up at her.

"It didn't matter that Sara felt certain you were Michael's child, I still believed you were mine. I did, even after that fight with Michael. I held to that belief up until the day you were born… but it was clear then that you were certainly Michael's child… I knew it even before any tests were run. Losing you… even if I never had you to begin with, was the most painful thing I have ever experienced. Yes, girl, even more painful than losing my arm." Blinking back tears, Scarlett looked down to where their hands were clasped in her lap.

"I… I don't really know what to say," she said sniffling. Balathar smiled.

"You needn't say anything," he told her. "I never meant for you to know any of this. I was many years ago and I am certainly not your father. I didn't want to concern you with any of it." Scarlett nodded slowly. Balathar reached up and gently wiped away a tear that she could no longer hold in.

-.-

With Halloween fast approaching, the mood within Hogwarts began to slowly turn more festive. The homework load on the first years had at last begun to wane, just in time for the weather to take a turn for the worst. Pour rains pounded the castle for nearly a fortnight before the sun again shone above the school.

Scarlett and Balathar had continued their late-night lessons, and Scarlett had to admit that she was growing more and more confident in her powers and abilities. This was mostly due to Balathar's encouragement and in part to a newfound understanding and connection between them that she shared with no one else. She had found in Balathar a sort of surrogate father, someone she felt she could trust and confide in about subjects she wouldn't have felt comfortable sharing with her parents. Not because she didn't feel at ease bringing problems or questions before her parents, but because the subjects in question often related to her birth parents, a topic Scarlett tended to avoid like the plague when she was at home.

But despite all this, there was one thing that still bothered Scarlett to a certain degree and that happened to be whatever lay hidden somewhere on the seventh floor. While she hadn't mentioned it to her friends since that first morning, she had questioned Balathar about it once more and he had at the very least made an effort to soothe her fears.

"I know you can't give me any details," Scarlett had said nervously as their lesson ended one night in the middle of October. "But, whatever's on the seventh floor… Are you guarding it from someone… or are you guarding everyone else from _it_?" Balathar gazed at her for a long moment. His piercing eyes burned into hers.

"What lies on the seventh floor is not dangerous," said Balathar lightly. "It is... powerful, certainly. And should it fall into the wrong hands, it would be _incredibly _dangerous."

"So... is someone after it... whatever _it _is?" Scarlett asked. Balathar shrugged.

"Professor Phoebus believes so," he replied. "I cannot say myself, but the headmistress has ordered that we professors place as many forms of magical protection over the... over what's being protected up there. I actually have a few new ideas I intend to pass to Professor Phoebus soon."

"I'm not trying to be nosy," said Scarlett." It's just... this thing is pretty close to where me and my friends sleep and I..."

"Professor Phoebus would never allow anything dangerous within these walls," said Balathar. "Well," he added with a grin. "Nothing that she couldn't control, at least," Scarlett nodded, at least somewhat reassured.

"Thanks, Professor,"

"Of course, my dear," said Balathar. "Goodnight,"

"'Night, Professor,"


	5. All Hallows Eve

-.-

**Chapter 5: All Hallows Eve**

-.-

Scarlett was standing in a dark chamber. It was cold and damp and she couldn't make out many details of her surroundings but from what she little she could see, she knew she had never been in this room before. Suddenly a man appeared before her… or at least she guessed it was a man. It was far too dark to tell. He wore a long purple cloak and he had a hood on that obscured his face.

Slowly, the man raised a wand and pointed it at her. He said something, a spell perhaps? A curse? Scarlett would never remember. But it must have been one or the other because she was immediately consumed in terrible, piercing white-hot _agony_. She was dead, she knew it. She had to be. It was pain beyond imagining, pain beyond anything Scarlett could ever possibly conceive of.

She fell to the ground, writhing in pain. All she knew was agony. And then with a gasp she sat bolt upright in bed, breathing as though she'd just run a marathon and drenched from head to toe in so much sweat that she looked as though she had just climbed out of a pool. Trembling furiously, she slipped out of bed and poured herself a glass of water from the pitcher under the window and pulled her sopping wet hair away from her face.

It had all felt so real. Her skin prickled sharply. She could still feel that agonizing pain. It was a pain she would never forget. She shivered as the cold of the room finally registered in her mind and she walked over to her trunk and retrieved a spare nightgown.

She had just tugged the dry gown up her body and pulled the thin straps over her shoulders when a pair of warm arms wrapped themselves around her from behind. Scarlett knew immediately that it was Lilly. She would recognize her best friend anywhere, anytime. The girl just had a… way about her.

Her touch, her scent, her… aura. Whenever Lilly was near, Scarlett just… _knew_. And when they touched it was like lightening. A flash of heat, love, laughter, passion, pleasure, and joy all rolled into one instantaneous bolt that rushed through both of them in a split second. And she knew, somehow she knew, that Lilly experienced the exact same things. Neither girl had ever mentioned anything of it to the other, or to anyone else, but they both knew that the other knew.

The how's and why's of there connection or whatever it was no longer bothered them. It hadn't for a while. It was a link deeper than anything Scarlett had ever heard of or read about. Scarlett loved Lilly with her whole heart, her whole being. She was never more comfortable, more happy, more at peace than in a moment like this one; when she was wrapped in Lilly's embrace. When she was in Lilly's arms she knew she was safe. She knew, without even a hint of a doubt, that nothing could touch her, could touch either of them. She doubted even God himself could harm them then.

"What's wrong?" Lilly asked the brunette when she noticed her trembling. "You're shaking like a leaf.

"I had another dream," said Scarlett quietly. "Another nightmare," Scarlett explained what had happened in the dream as they stood there, Lilly's grip around Scarlett's waist growing tighter the longer Scarlett spoke.

"That's awful," Lilly whispered. "I knew something was wrong. I felt it, but I thought you were in real trouble. It woke me up. These dreams, though… I can't imagine what makes you keep having them." Scarlett just shrugged. "At least you remember this one," Lilly added.

"I wish I didn't," Scarlett muttered. "I can still feel it, that pain… I wish I knew what it was… what spell that man used."

"Well, it was still just a dream," Lilly rationalized. "I know it was terrifying, but it was only a dream. You're safe…" She smiled that beautiful smile that made Scarlett feel warm inside. "You're with me, after all." Scarlett smiled too at that.

"I _am_ safe with you, aren't I?" she said knowingly. "My own personal guardian angel,"

Scarlett didn't mention the dream to Jake or Hope. She knew both of them would want to know so that they could help her however they could. Nevertheless, Scarlett felt that this, whatever it was, was something she only felt comfortable sharing with Lilly.

It was a clear but cold Saturday morning and the only thing on most of the school's minds that day was the Halloween Feast coming that night. The feast was one of Hogwarts' best and was always highly anticipated. Scarlett however had more pressing concerns. She couldn't help but feel that the man in the dream had been someone she had once known, perhaps a childhood friend that she had drifted away from and long since forgotten, but she knew this couldn't be true. She had never known anyone like him in her life, and certainly no one who would use such a horrible curse on her.

Lilly tried to reassure her after lunch, having noticed all morning that Scarlett seemed distant, that it had only been a dream. And, of course, Lilly made sense. Scarlett knew that it really was likely just a dream, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was something more… something sinister… and with everything else that was going on in her life, it wasn't hard to add the dream to the list of crazy things that seemed to happen to her.

"Talk to Balathar about it is it's worrying you so much," said Lilly as she stood in the doorway to the girl's dormitory, waiting for the brunette to finish getting dressed so that they could meet up with Jake and Hope in the common room and go down to the feast together.

"I don't want to bother him with something so stupid," said Scarlett, buttoning the last button on her blouse and reaching for her robes. "Besides, you're probably right… It was just a dream…"

"But we both know you don't believe that," said Lilly firmly. "We know each other too well to lie to each other. Besides, I don't think Balathar would mind. He likes you. What would it hurt? He might be able to help."

"I'll worry about that tomorrow," said Scarlett dryly.

"Good," said Lilly happily. "Now, come on! It's Halloween, and there's a feast to get to."

"All Hallows Eve," said Scarlett absently. Lilly arched an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked.

"You said Halloween. It's technically called All Hallows Eve, the most powerfully magical day of the year." Scarlett explained. "You… didn't know that?"

"No, but then I didn't care to either," said Lilly, sitting down on the bed. "Who cares what it's called? There's food…"

"Is that all you think about?" asked Scarlett curiously.

"My mum asks my dad that question all the time," said Lilly thoughtfully. "Dad always says that there's one other thing he thinks about too, but he'll never say what it is while I'm in the room…" A loud wailing and a piercing shout interrupted Lilly's sentence. There was a scraping sound, a bump, and then Hope stuck her head around the doorframe.

"Are you two coming?" she asked hurriedly.

"What the bloody hell _was _that?" asked Lilly. Hope shrugged apologetically.

"Jake's hungry," she said. "He was coming up here to ask you the same thing I did, but… well… Apparently, boys aren't allowed in the girl's dormitories. The staircase turned into a slide and he slid all the way back down into the common room.

"Why do I always miss the good stuff?" Lilly asked dejectedly.

"Is Jake okay?" Scarlett asked, tugging on her shoes and seizing her hat.

"He's fine," said Hope. "Well… mostly. He'll be alright."

"Are you ready, then?" Lilly asked Scarlett. She nodded and the three girls set off down the staircase to the common room, where they found Jake sitting alone in one of the chintz armchairs.

"Ladies," he said pleasantly. Scarlett and Hope both smiled. Lilly shook her head.

"If only I'd had a video camera…" she muttered.

The four of them went down to the Great Hall. Lilly was still taunting Jake while Scarlett and Hope were both doing their best to keep themselves from laughing. Naturally, this was far easier said than done. When they reached the Hall, they found it filled nearly to capacity. It had been decorated with thousands of live bats as well as millions of black streamers that twisted and twirled through the air above their heads. Behind the staff table sat a series of carved pumpkins that Scarlett knew must be larger than a small house.

The feast, as all Hogwarts feasts were, was delicious. The celebration went on well into the night until at last, around midnight, Professor Phoebus sent them all off to bed. As everyone left the Hall, Scarlett noticed Balathar was still seated at the staff table, even though the other teachers had already left. Telling the others she'd be along in a few minutes, Scarlett fought her way through the crowd toward Balathar.

"Hello, Scarlett," said Balathar when he noticed her approaching.

"Hi," said Scarlett nervously. "I… er… I wanted to talk to you about something, if… if you've got time, that is. If not, I understand. It's really stupid, I shouldn't even be…"

"Scarlett," Balathar said firmly, standing to his feet. He reached out and led her by the arm into the seat beside his own. "You know that you can come to me with anything. I'm happy to help you however I can."

"Well… okay…" said Scarlett. She took a very deep breath and began to explain all over her dreams, both the one she'd had the previous night as well as the one she had on her very first night at Hogwarts. Balathar listened intently with a stoic expression on his face.

"The Cruciatus Curse," said Balathar darkly. Scarlett's eyes narrowed. She wasn't sure what she had expected him to say, but this certainly wasn't it. She had no idea what the Cruciatus Curse was.

"The Cruci-what?" said Scarlett confusedly.

"The Cruciatus Curse," Balathar repeated. "One of three Unforgivable Curses. The use of any of them on another human being earns you a lifetime sentence in a maximum security cell in Azkaban prison. The Cruciatus Curse isn't the worst of them, nor the most sinister... but it is the most terrifying. It is the _torture _curse." Scarlett's eyes widened.

"But... but why would I...?"

"Dream about it? Scarlett, I have no idea. I have experienced this curse before and what you describe is virtually identical to the effects of the curse." He broke off, gazing at her in that searching way he tended to. "No child should ever know such pain. I am truly sorry that you've had to experience this, even in a dream state. To have felt such torment... You're a very strong girl, Scarlett."

"Thanks..."

"Yes... These dreams, though. I must say, I do not believe they are dreams at all." Balathar fixed her with a very stern stare. "I believe you are witnessing the future." Scarlett gulped.

"So... I can expect to be tortured by a hooded man someday soon?" Scarlett asked, unable to keep the fear out of her voice. Balathar sighed.

"Possibly," he said plainly. "I cannot say for certain. It is possible that you were simply seeing the future of someone else, or even a possible future of your own. The future is constantly in motion, always changing. It is not set in stone. If this was indeed your future, it may never come to pass."

"But what if...?" Scarlett began, but Balathar interrupted.

"Whatever this is, it is not something you need to worry about now," he said firmly. "There is no one currently within the walls of Hogwarts who would ever use an Unforgivable Curse on a student. Nor would Professor Phoebus allow such a person into the school. You are _safe _here, Scarlett."

"Right..." said Scarlett. She wasn't completely convinced, but... well, she trusted Balathar. At least he had made her feel a little better. "Well, I'd better get going. My friends are waiting for me. 'Night, Professor."

"Sleep well," said Balathar idly. Balathar followed Scarlett out of the Great Hall and left her in the Entrance Hall with Lilly, Jake, and Hope who had all waited for her.

Jake, Lilly, and Hope chatted energetically on the way up to Gryffindor Tower. Scarlett, however, dwelled on her dreams and her talk with Balathar as they walked. The castle was practically deserted as they made their way up to the seventh floor. None of them noticed anything was strange until they emerged onto the seventh floor corridor.

Scarlett suddenly felt an electric surge tear through her the moment she stepped off of the staircase. A blazing bolt of pure magical power ripped through her and she nearly passed out. Without warning the door that Scarlett had tried to open weeks earlier burst open to their right.

"Bloody hell!" Lilly exclaimed. "What was… Scarlett, where are you going?" Scarlett had begun walking toward the open door. She paused at the threshold and ran her small hands over the doorframe.

"Scarlett, get away from there!" Jake hissed. "We're not supposed to go in there. Scarlett!" But she ignored him. The door was open. She could find out what was hidden beyond. The rational part of her mind was screaming at her to stay out, but whatever it was that controlled her now refused to listen and she stepped inside.

"Scarlett, come back!" Lilly called after her, but Scarlett didn't even seem to hear her. "Come on!" She ordered Jake and Hope.

"Come on, where?" Hope demanded furiously.

"We're going with her, obviously!" Lilly said grimly. "Now, move!" She marched off through the door after Scarlett.

"Oh… we're going to get expelled…" Hope said frantically, but she followed Lilly, tugging Jake along behind her.

The room beyond the door was very dark except for a small circle of light that seemed to be emitting from Scarlett's outstretched palm. Lilly walked over to Scarlett and found her staring down a long, seemingly empty corridor.

"Carly…?" Lilly said uncertainly.

"I don't know, Lil," Scarlett replied. Without another word, she set off down the corridor with Lilly, Hope, and Jake bringing up the rear. As they continued down the dark, windowless corridor a series of several dozen magical pops and crackles resounded through the otherwise silent hallway.

"What _is _that?" Jake asked curiously.

"Magical barriers collapsing," Scarlett replied, although she couldn't begin to explain how she knew this. Nor could she explain why said magical barriers, clearly put in place to protect whatever it was that the teachers had hidden here, would break for them to pass.

The corridor ended abruptly in a solid stone wall. There were no doors or other indicators of where to go. The hallway just ended, seemingly serving no purpose whatsoever. Scarlett, however, seemed to know exactly what to do. Without bothering to explain, mainly because she didn't have the slightest idea what she was doing, she placed her hand firmly against the blank wall and began to speak.

"_Ego, Aurora de Atlantis, hoc invocare potentiae deos! Dimittere tuum præsidium et revelare quod quaerere!_" And the wall dissolved into nothingness, revealing a small, dark chamber beyond. The chamber itself was empty, save for a crystal pedestal in the very center. There was nothing on it.

"This is what the teachers are hiding?" asked Jake glumly. "An empty room?"

"It isn't empty," Scarlett replied without looking at him. She gestured toward the pedestal.

"Carly, baby, you know I love you," said Lilly gently. "But honey, I think you're losing it. There's nothing here worth hiding... unless that's a million galleon pedestal, of course."

"It is here," said Scarlett. She walked over to the pedestal and knelt down beside it. "Look," The other three gathered around her and looked where she was pointing. There, inscribed on the base of the pedestal in a language none of them could understand, were the words: _Evolla noitidno cnu, laerev ahohw esohtot. Evo lfore wope urt ehtdna tsrednu ohweso httub enonot flesti laeverl liwe nots broeht. Tiesu yamw efyln otub, sevilr ewope hter ocymn ihitw. _

"And you're guessing that... whatever that is, says that there's something of importance stashed here," said Lilly pointedly. "Because when I read that, that's exactly what I understand it to mean." Scarlett flashed Lilly a furious glare. She stood up, took Lilly's hand in her left and pressed her right hand onto the surface of the crystal pedestal.

There was a clap of what could only have been thunder and a flash of blue-white light. Then, floating quite unsupported above the pedestal, a bluish stone appeared. It was roughly circular, and its crystalline center pulsed with some unknown magical power.

"Carly..." Lilly whispered in awe. "Carly, what... what is that?" Scarlett turned, looking straight at Lilly and said in a perfectly neutral voice:

"The Orbstone,"

"And what the bloody hell is that?" Lilly asked.

"It is not to be touched," Scarlett said firmly. Lilly's eyes narrowed and she turned around and noticed Jake was standing next to the pedestal with his hand mere inches from the blue stone. Wordlessly, he lowered his hand.

"Sorry..." he muttered. Lilly shook her head and turned back to Scarlett.

"Look, Carly... We're not supposed to be here. If we get caught, we'll be expelled. Let's go back to the common room. We'll figure all this out tomorrow."

"Yes, right," said Scarlett. She reached out and took Lilly's hand and touched the pedestal. The stone vanished immediately. Lilly led the others back down the corridor, the magical crackling sounds reverberating through the air as they made the twenty minute trek back to the doorway to the seventh floor corridor.

After checking to make sure the corridor was empty, Lilly pushed the door open fully and stepped into the corridor. Scarlett made to follow her, but the instant she stepped over the threshold, she let out an audible gasp and started to collapse. Lilly was there immediately, catching the brunette before she hit the floor. The last thing Scarlett remembered was the worried faces of her friends staring down at her.

-.-

Scarlett was quite surprised to find herself lying in the most comfortable bed she could ever remember lying on. She was incredibly warm and felt as though she could easily slip away from the conscious world with little effort. She had no recollection of how she had gotten into this warm bed, but she was certainly pleased to be there.

As she lay there, she tried to force her semi-conscious mind to focus on remembering what had happened the night before. She had a sudden image of her dad coming home drunk late one night and of him waking up the next morning with no memory of his activities the night before. Her mum had been most displeased.

Displeased... she had been displeased the night before. She had been angry. But why? She had been angry at Lilly. She had said something dumb... and also at Jake. He had almost touched... almost touched the... Orbstone. The Orbstone. Scarlett couldn't remember what exactly the Orbstone was, nor why is seemed to be important, but she knew it certainly must have been.

It was only then, as she lay there pondering where she was and what had happened, that she realized that to find out where she was, all she need do was open her eyes. Of course, as with all similar things, actually performing the simple task proved to be far more difficult that it should have been.

At long last, Scarlett managed to force her eyes open. She lay in her bed up in the dormitory, which was completely empty except for her. All the windows had been thrown open, allowing streams of golden light to fill the room and fall over her bed. A soft groan from her right, drew Scarlett's attention to Lilly, who lay beside her, curled up and fast asleep.

"Lil," Scarlett whispered. She had meant to speak in normal tones, but her voice was tight and scratchy, so a whisper was all she could manage. "Lilly, wake up," She nudged the blonde with her elbow.

"Stop..." Lilly muttered angrily. "I'm sleeping..."

"C'mon, Lilly-pad," Scarlett urged.

"Ugh…" Lilly groaned as she sat up in bed and stretched. "What is it with you and waking me up?" She asked, looking down over her left shoulder at Scarlett, who smirked.

"Sorry," she said gently.

"Right…" said Lilly dryly before adopting a more serious tone. "Are… are you okay? After what happened last night, I… well, we were all worried."

"I feel a little weak," said Scarlett, but Lilly could tell by the look in her eyes and the tone of her voice that she was far more than just a little weak. "Lilly, what happened?" Lilly's blue eyes narrowed in confusion.

"You… don't remember?" she asked. Scarlett shook her head.

"No, I… I remember something about… something about an Orbstone," She looked up at Lilly. "Do you know what that is?"

"It's a blue stone about the size of my fist… well, Jake's fist, actually," said Lilly. "And that's what the teachers are protecting on the seventh floor… and apparent you're able to just waltz through whatever protective spells they've placed over it." Scarlett's eyes widened.

"Are you saying I went through…?"

"I'm saying you led me, Jake, and Hope off through the seventh floor last night and found the chamber where the Orbstone is hidden," said Lilly. "But as for what the Orbstone is, well… I haven't the foggiest."

"Well, I'm guessing since we're still here that no one saw us and we haven't been expelled."

"Nope," said Lilly. "We got off scot-free… well, all of us except for you." She added, leaning down and gently cupping the other girl's cup in her right hand. "You collapsed right after we left that corridor. We almost took you to the hospital wing, but we couldn't come up with a convincing lie as to why you collapsed. Jake thought maybe it was something to do with going in there, a spell or something over the door. I didn't make sense because why would it only affect you, but… well; we didn't want to chance it. A teacher would've known immediately what had happened."

"I'm sorry about all that," Scarlett said quietly. "I don't know what happened… I'm sorry I scared you." Lilly smiled warmly.

"Don't be sorry," she said softly. "I'm just glad you're okay… you _are _okay, aren't you?"

"I'm just… really, _really _tired," she said, still in that whisper-soft voice. She tilted her head toward the nearest open window. "What time is it, anyway?" Lilly checked her watch.

"Three fifteen," she said, lying back down on her stomach next to Scarlett.

"I guess I really am tired," said Scarlett. She paused, then turned her head toward Lilly.

"_Why _are you in my bed?" she asked curiously, the fact that the blonde had seemingly slept beside her all night having only just occurred to her.

"I was worried about you," Lilly said honestly. "I wanted to be close... just in case..."

"You mean instead of four feet over there?" Scarlett asked, a smirk playing on her lips as she pointed vaguely toward Lilly's four-poster.

"Yes," said Lilly dryly. Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she said. "You're just lucky I like you."

"Very lucky..." Lilly muttered sleepily.

"Lilly, don't fall asleep again,"

"I'm not..."

"You are,"

"Am not..."

"Are so..."

"Shut up, Carls..."

-.-

Life at Hogwarts was practically what one might call normal over the next three weeks. The only thing that troubled Scarlett was the events of Halloween night and the mysterious Orbstone. The more Scarlett thought about what had happened, the more she seemed to remember... and the things she remembered terrified her.

Balathar had told her she was powerful... perhaps the most powerful witch alive. But until Halloween, she hadn't really appreciated exactly what that meant. She remembered feeling powerful... powerful beyond imagining. She had had an insatiable desire to reach the Orbstone and she knew, somehow, that _ no one _would have been able to stop her. And if they had gotten in her way... well, Scarlett didn't want to think about it.

"I want to research the Orbstone," Scarlett said by way of greeting as she sat down at the Gryffindor table one morning late in November. Jake and Hope both looked up from their plates curiously.

"I thought we all agreed that it was best to leave it alone," said Hope, arching her eyebrows.

"The three of you did," Scarlett admitted. "But I still think something's wrong... I just can't figure it out. Maybe... maybe if we knew _what _the Orbstone was..."

"What does Lilly think about this?" asked Jake.

"Lilly... thinks I should keep my nose out of other people's business," said Scarlett delicately. "And she's probably right. I just... I just wish I knew what was going on. I wish I knew what I am... I've got all this power that I don't have the slightest idea how to control and Balathar's lessons aren't really helping."

"Maybe you should talk to Balathar about this," Hope suggested.

"Oh, yes, that'd be a great conversation," said Scarlett. "'Hello Professor, I'd like to ask about the Orbstone. I know it's hidden behind incredibly powerful magical protection, but I just waltzed through it and found it a few weeks ago and I'm curious about what it is,'"

"Well... okay, so maybe it's not the best idea..." said Hope.

"I can't mention this to Balathar," said Scarlett thoughtfully. "But maybe there is _someone _I could ask." She smiled across the table at the other two. "Either of you care for a stroll?"


	6. Reliquary

-.-

**Chapter Six: Reliquary **

-.-

It was icy cold outside as Scarlett, Jake, and Hope left through the castle's oak front doors and set off across the grounds toward Doddard's house. The sky overhead was solid grey and there was a hint of an approaching snowstorm that would threaten the second Quidditch match of the season, and Gryffindor's first.

"Why would Doddard know anything about the Orbstone?" Jake asked as they walked. "He's not a teacher."

"No, he's the groundskeeper," said Scarlett. "And he seems to know just about everything _about_ just about everything that goes on at Hogwarts. I'd bet he'll know about the Orbstone."

"Maybe, but how are you going to ask him about it?" Hope inquired. "He may not be a teacher, but he's still a staff member. He'll go straight to Phoebus if he thinks we've seen it."

"I'm not going to tell him we've seen it," said Scarlett firmly. "I... I don't know what I'm going to do, but I've got do something." They had reached Doddard's door by now and Scarlett rapped firmly on the frame.

"Who's there?" Doddard's voice called from inside.

"It's me, Scarlett!" Scarlett replied. "And two of my friends, Jake and Hope!"

"Alright, gimme a minute," said Doddard. They heard the sound of a heavy bolt lock being pulled and the door swung open. "Hello, you three. C'mon in,"

"Thanks, Doddard," said Scarlett as she passed him.

"So, you two're Scarlett's friends, eh?" Doddard asked as they all sat down in the sitting room. Jake and Hope both nodded. "Good, that's good. So, I'm guessing by the look on your face that this isn't a social call," Doddard said, turning to Scarlett who was staring blankly at her knees.

"No," she said softly. She took a deep breath. There was only one way to go about this, and she knew it. "We know about the Orbstone." She said succinctly. Doddard simply stared at her for a long moment as though he had been stunned into silence.

"That's... impossible," he said at last.

"It's not," said Scarlett firmly. "I know it's hidden on the seventh floor. I know the teachers are protecting it, and somehow I feel... _connected _to it." She paused and looked straight into Doddard's eyes. "What is it?" Doddard sighed heavily and shook his head.

"Hell if I know," he muttered. "Old Phoebus barely told any of the teachers what it is and she sure hasn't told me. I just know it's powerful... very powerful. Phoebus was worried about its safety so she brought it here and did everything she could to protect it. How... do you know about it?"

"Because she's too nosy for her own good," said Hope. Scarlett shrugged.

"That's... not untrue," she admitted. "Look, Doddard... I know I shouldn't be involved, I just... I can't help feeling like something's changed... like something's about to happen."

"It hardly matters," said Doddard. "Professor Phoebus knows what she's doing. The Orbstone is safe. It's protected by some of the most advanced and powerful magic in existence. No one could possibly get through it." Scarlett exchanging brief glances with the other two. She decided not to mention the fact that she and her three friends had managed to waltz through said advanced and powerful magic as though it weren't even there.

"What if... what if someone _could _get through the protection?" Scarlett asked delicately. "I mean... if the teachers are protecting the stone, it obviously needs protecting."

"You want to know if someone is after the Orbstone," said Doddard idly. "Well, I've no idea. The simple fact is that even if someone is after the stone, no one, and I mean no one, could possibly fight their way passed all of the protective wards and enchantments surrounding the stone. It's _safe_."

To say that the trip to Doddard's had eased Scarlett's mind would be a lie. In fact, the idea that Doddard was so certain that the Orbstone was safe and that no one could reach it when she herself, a simple first year witch, had marched right up to it frightened her. Of course, she couldn't understand _why _it bothered her. She didn't have the slightest idea what the Orbstone was, so why did she care whether someone stole it or not?

The thing of it was that she just felt that if someone took the Orbstone, something terrible would happen. She couldn't explain that either, so she didn't even try. In fact, she stopped mentioning the Orbstone to her friends altogether after visiting Doddard, something she knew the others were quite grateful for.

And so, life returned to normal for the four first years. Nothing out of the ordinary happened to them until Christmas morning. The weeks leading up to the holiday had been stressful at best. The homework load had increased once again, but the mood within the castle had been slowly rising as the sights and sounds of Christmas filled the school.

A thick blanket of snow fell on Hogwarts two weeks before Christmas and judging by the weather forecast, it wouldn't be melting off any time soon. Gryffindor faced Slytherin in the third Quidditch match of the season on the same weekend as the blizzard and the students found themselves huddled in the stands as Slytherin went down to Gryffindor one hundred ninety points to sixty.

Jake and Hope left for home on Christmas eve along with most of the rest of the school, letting Lilly and Scarlett have the run of Gryffindor Tower. Lilly's parents were spending the holidays in Ireland with family friends, friends their children apparently didn't like because all four of them had elected to remain at Hogwarts. Scarlett, meanwhile, decided to stay after Lilly begged her to keep her company and spare her having to spend Christmas with only her brothers for companionship.

"Wake up!" Lilly shouted just before dawn on Christmas morning as she leapt onto Scarlett's bed and landed next to her, shocking her awake.

"For the love of _Merlin_, Lilly, don't _do _that!" Scarlett shouted, sitting up in bed and holding a hand to her chest.

"Presents," said Lilly, pointing at the end of Scarlett's bed. Lilly quickly kissed her on the check and scrambled over to her own bed, where an incredibly large pile of gifts was stacked at the foot. Blearily, Scarlett began unwrapping her own gifts and occasionally looking over at Lilly when she shouted with happiness after opening a particularly exciting gift.

"What's that?" Lilly asked, pointing toward a very large package that Scarlett had just unearthed from the center of her own pile. Scarlett shrugged and slipped out of bed and walked over to the package.

"I don't know," said Scarlett. She paused and looked at the card tied to the top. "_For when you need to feel a little charmed_." She looked at Lilly. "What does that mean?"

"No idea," said Lilly, coming over to join her. "Who's it from?" Scarlett shrugged.

"It's signed P.H."

"P.H.?" Lilly repeated. "Who's P.H.?" Scarlett shrugged. She racked her brains, but came up with nothing. She was certain she knew no one whose initials were P.H., and certainly no one who would send her a Christmas present.

"Well, let's open it," said Lilly. She reached down and tugged at the wrapping paper. Together, the girls unwrapped the package which turned out to be a large trunk. The trunk was quite plain save for a strange symbol on its lid.

"I've seen that before," said Lilly, pointed at the symbol which was a trio of ovals arranged so that one lay straight up and the other two touched the first on one end and then extended down beneath the first, pointing out to the left and right. A circle set in the center cut through all three ovals.

"That's a triquetra, that is," Scarlett arched her eyebrows.

"It's a Tri-what?" she asked.

"A Triquetra," Lilly repeated. "It's an ancient and powerful sign. A symbol of extremely powerful magic." When Scarlett made no move to open the trunk, Lilly moved forward herself and tugged on the lid. It didn't open, but there was no sign of a lock.

"Er... Carls," she said uncertainly. "Any ideas?"

"A couple," said Scarlett dryly. She reached out and placed her hand on the lid. Instantly, a click sounded inside the trunk and the lid popped open.

"Well, naturally," said Lilly, giving her best friend a light smirk. Together, the girls heaved the heavy lid back and peered inside the trunk. Lying on top of the other content of the trunk was what appeared to be a crumpled piece of parchment. Lilly reached in slowly, looking as though she half-expected her hand to either be zapped or magically chopped off. Either way, nothing happened and she snatched the parchment up and unfolded it.

"Wow, someone must _really_ like you," said Lilly brightly, holding up the parchment. "I mean, this is _lovely_. A manky old bit of parchment with nothing written on it... Expect..." She broke off as a thin strip of parchment fell out of the ragged sheets. She stooped to pick it up and sat down on the edge of Scarlett's bed.

"_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good_," Lilly read the single sentence written in a very neat hand on the strip of parchment and shrugged. "What does that mean?"

"I'll leave that one for you to figure out, Nancy Drew," said Scarlett, turning back to the trunk.

"I'll take that as a compliment," said Lilly smiling. Scarlett began rummaging through the trunk. She pulled out a number of spellbooks and even a few personal journals which detailed how to create what appeared to be incredibly powerful potions and advanced spells, but in none of the journals had the authors written their names.

As she dug deeper, she noticed a thin, slivery piece of fabric lying folded near the bottom of the trunk. She tugged it out and held it up. It seemed to shimmer oddly in the early morning light streaming through the window. It was only then that she realized that it was a very old cloak. Perhaps that was why it was so thin, she guessed.

Lilly, meanwhile, was lying on Scarlett's bed staring at the old parchment with her wand tucked behind her left ear. She was silently mouthing the sentence written on the note that had been folded up inside the parchment and appeared deep in thought.

"Maybe it's... But no..." she rolled her eyes. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," she shook her head. "What does... whoa..." Her wand had fallen from behind her ear as she had shaken her head. It had fallen down and the tip had tapped the center of the parchment. Immediately, words began to appear.

"Hey, Carly, come take a look at this!" she said quickly. When no one replied, Lilly looked up. "Carls?" she called, when she saw that the brunette was nowhere in sight. "Carly?"

"Lilly, I'm right here," Scarlett's voice came suddenly from Lilly's right. Lilly spun around, searching. There was no one there.

"Okay," said Lilly firmly. "Either I've temporarily lost the ability to see you or you've gone invisible." She heard Scarlett gasp.

"I'm invisible?" she asked in awed tones. "But then it must be..." And Scarlett appeared suddenly near the door, clutching the slivery cloak in her slender hands.

"Whoa..." said Lilly in an equally awed voice. "That... that's an Invisibility Cloak!" Scarlett cocked her head to one side and arched her eyebrows.

"_Really_?" She smiled. "You just _love _to point out the obvious, don't you?"

"But I've never actually _seen _one," said Lilly quickly. "As far as I know, not a single Invisibility Cloak has been acknowledged to exist in over three hundred years! They're _beyond _rare! I think the only known magical object that could be considered to be even rarer would have to be a Time-Turner. The last one of those is said to have been destroyed nearly five hundred years ago."

"How do you know all this?" asked Scarlett, folding up the cloak and placing it delicately on her bed. "I've never known you to be… well, I don't want to say knowledgeable…" Scarlett grimaced. Lilly shrugged.

"My dad's very interested in powerful magical artifacts," Lilly explained. "He's got books on just about everything imaginable. Time-Turners, Invisibility Cloaks, Philosopher's Stones, and even the Goblet of Fire,"

"The what?" Scarlett asked curiously. Lilly shook her head.

"I don't remember much about it, but…" Lilly began, but Scarlett interrupted. She had returned to the trunk while Lilly had been talking and retrieved a small metal box with a heavy lock on it and a note taped to the top which said; Danger – Do Not Open. She held it out to Lilly, who took it, read the note for herself, and immediately began tugged on the lock.

"_Lilly_!" Scarlett exclaimed in a disbelieving voice. Lilly shrugged.

"What?" she asked.

"It says not to open it!" said Scarlett.

"Yeah," Lilly replied. "So?"

"So let's not open it," said Scarlett. "We don't know who sent this stuff, but we already know they obviously have a taste for magical objects. I mean they've sent an Invisibility Cloak, all those spellbooks and… Wait, before the Invisibility Cloak bit you said something about the parchment. What was…?"

"Oh, right!" Lilly snatched up the parchment and held it out to Scarlett, who began to read the words that had magically appeared on its surface.

"Messieurs Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs proudly present… The Marauder's Map." Scarlett looked up confusedly. "So... it's a map then?"

"Now who's stating the perfectly obvious," said Lilly with a smirk. She took the map back and unfolded it. Lines instantly began spreading out all over the surface, twisting and conjoining to form what was clearly...

"This is Hogwarts," Scarlett whispered as she stared at the map over Lilly's shoulder.

"It's not just Hogwarts," said Lilly. She pointed at dozens of tiny labeled dots roaming the school's corridors. "This is a live map of Hogwarts. Look." She pointed toward Gryffindor Tower, where two dots labeled Scarlett Moreau and Lilly Harcourt stood next to each other. Scarlett shook her head slowly and turned back to the Invisibility Cloak with a strange expression on her face.

"Lilly..." she whispered. "Lilly, all of Hogwarts is open to us now. With the cloak and this map... we... we could go anywhere. We could do anything and no one would know."

"Carly, I know what you're thinking," said Lilly. "You're thinking about going back to see the Orbstone, aren't you?"

"No..." said Scarlett quietly. She couldn't meet Lilly's gaze.

"Yes, you are," said Lilly, folding her arms across her chest. "And _don't_! You said you'd let it go."

"No, I said I wasn't going to mention it anymore because you and Jake and Hope didn't think I should." Scarlett countered. "I'm being drawn to that stone, Lilly. I can't explain it and I honestly don't care anymore. There's something I'm supposed to do, something... something important and I think whoever sent me all this is trying to help."

"Or they're trying to get you expelled," said Lilly darkly. "I'd be willing to bet that everything in that trunk is banned at Hogwarts. If anyone found out you had that stuff, you'd be on the next train back home. If you get caught sneaking onto the seventh floor, you'll..."

"But I won't get caught, will I?" asked Scarlett. "No one would see me if I take the cloak, and this map... if it works like we think it does, I'd see anyone coming long before they got there."

"Fine, but if you're going, I'm going with you," said Lilly firmly. Scarlett arched her eyebrows.

"And risk getting expelled?" asked Scarlett. "No, Lil, this is my problem. You don't need to..."

"I do," said Lilly. She reached out and snaked her hand under the fabric of Scarlett's shirt and pressed her palm against the brunette's back, causing her to tremble and small gasp to escape her lips. "Because of that. I know we've never discussed it, but we've both felt it since the second we met. We're connected, Carly. I can't explain it any more than you can explain your connection to that bloody stone, but it's just as real. Whatever this is, it's real... and I can't let you do whatever you're planning on doing on your own."

"Lilly..."

"No, Carly," the blonde interrupted. "We're together, you and me, no matter what. If you think this is important, then I'm with you." It was a show of loyalty that Scarlett had never known. Lilly was willing to risk expulsion, or worse, for her. It nearly moved her to tears. Not knowing what to say, she turned back to the trunk and noticed a final item at the bottom of the trunk. She reached in and retrieved a large, leather-bound book. It was dark green in color and on its cover it had the same triquetra as was on the lid of the trunk.

Curious, Scarlett sat down on the edge of her bed and opened the book to the first page. The pages themselves were made out of an ancient parchment and were slightly faded with time. On the inside of the cover a note had been written in the same hand as the note on the trunk.

"_You hold in your hands the Book of Shadows,_" Scarlett read the note aloud. "_It is the heritage of my family... and of yours, Scarlett. This Book and all its power and knowledge belongs to you, sister witch. Within its weathered pages you will find all of the knowledge and experiences of our family line over hundreds of years. I hereby bequeath this gift to you, the last of the Warrens. As it served us, so shall it serve you. Protect it with your life, and it in turn will shield you from the howling dark. Blessed Be._"

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Lilly deadpanned as Scarlett finished reading. Scarlett looked up at her and shrugged.

"I'm not even trying to figure this out anymore," said Scarlett weakly. "But it sounds as if whoever owned this book, the mysterious P.H., maybe, might have been a relative of mine somehow."

"So you're... the last of the Warrens, then?" Lilly asked, checking the note.

"Maybe," said Scarlett. "I mean, I've never done much research into my birth parents. Maybe my mother's maiden name was Warren... or maybe it's an old family name that's died out, but we're still related by blood."

"Maybe your mum and dad would know," said Lilly. "Why don't you send a letter home with Aura and ask them?" Scarlett had to admit that she was already seriously considering this. She had never asked about her parents before, but perhaps the time had finally come. Someone, somewhere, had sent her a box packed with powerful objects that seemed to have belonged to a long-lost relative... and maybe this person could help her understand more about herself and her innate connection to magic.

Christmas morning hadn't been what you might typically call fun. The enigmatic trunk and its anonymous sender had only added further mystery to Scarlett's already mysterious life. She felt lost, confused and most of all she was scared. She had been worried enough about astonishing ease that most magic came to her and now she had a link to a family she had never known. A family which, judging by the contents of the so-called Book of Shadows, had both been incredibly powerful and had many dangerous enemies. And while the Book told of methods by which to destroy many of these enemies, it was a branch of magic Scarlett didn't understand and that Hogwarts didn't teach. If these foes came for her, she knew she would never be able to fight them.

Lilly, meanwhile, wasn't going to let Scarlett brood on the subject on Christmas. She and her brothers, Sam, Jace, and Peter had organized a snowball fight out on the grounds and Lilly was determined that Scarlett would participate. Because there were only five of them, the guys decided they would split the teams into guys against girls citing the fact that Lilly was apparently known to be deadly accurate with snowballs.

Being outnumbered and outgunned, the girls had fled to the edge of the Dark Forest. Hiding amongst the thick trunks, they waited patiently for Sam, Jace, and Peter to show themselves. After over half an hour where nothing of note took place except Scarlett using magic to build a low rise of snow behind which both girls took shelter, Lilly grew bored and decided to skirt the edge of the forest to see if she could find their foes. She hurried off along the rows of trees, leaving Scarlett quite alone.

As was natural in a situation like this, the very moment Lilly's crunching footsteps died away, new footsteps approached from the opposite direction. Peeking out from behind the low wall of snow, Scarlett spotted Peter sneaking cautiously toward her. It was clear by the expression on his face that he had no idea that she was there. Smiling deviously, Scarlett decided it was time to have some fun... as well as even the odds in their one sided war by taking out one of her opponents.

Drawing her wand, she eased the tip over the wall and whispered "_Bombarda!_" The spell struck the ground inches from Peter's feet. The massive blast blew snow into the air in all directions. Peter shouted in surprise and stumbled. He fell backwards and landed flatly on his back. Scarlett scrambled around her wall of snow and walked over to him.

Peter was already trying to stand when she reached him. Scarlett placed her booted right foot firmly on his chest and pushed him back down again. She peered down at him, smiling widely and looking quite pleased with herself.

"Well, look at this," said Scarlett pleasantly. "I thought you said you were good."

"No one said anything about using magic," said Peter, trying in vain to push Scarlett's foot off of his chest. "And just so you know, you're supposed to actually hit me with a snowball to eliminate me. I'm technically still in the... oh..." he broke off as he noticed the three snowballs floating idly at Scarlett's shoulder. She crossed her arms over her chest, still smiling.

"Sorry," said Scarlett gently. One of the snowballs suddenly collided with Peter's face. Sputtering, Peter wiped off his face and looked up at her.

"Yeah, yeah... Can you let me up now?" he asked her. She cocked her head to one side and smirked.

"I suppose," she said airily. "But just..." A snowball whizzed through the trees seemingly out of thin air. One of the balls at Scarlett's shoulder shot forward and struck the incoming snowball, obliterating both of them. Two new balls magically fused together and rose to float with the last remaining ball. Scarlett spun around and saw Jace darting away through the trees. With a jerk of her wand, two of the snowballs shot off like rockets after him. Although neither Scarlett nor Peter could actually see him, the pained shout that echoed toward them clearly indicated at least one of the two Harcourt-seeking snowballs had found its mark.

"You're good at this, aren't you?" asked Peter. Scarlett shrugged.

"Not really," Scarlett replied, shifting her weight slightly to keep herself balanced. "Where's Sam?"

"If I tell you, will you move your foot?" asked Peter. "Just because you're small doesn't mean you're not hurting my chest."

"Sure," she said lightly.

"We started off behind the greenhouses," said Peter. "Sam sent both of us out to find you. Jace was _supposed _to stay with me, but he decided we'd have a better chance at finding you if we split up. Well, we found you, that's for sure." Scarlett considered him for a moment, and then lifted her boot off of his chest.

"Thanks," said Peter, sitting up and brushing the snow out of his hair. When he was done, his hair looked remarkably windswept. "Next time, I want to be on your team."

"I'm not sure Lilly would like that," said Scarlett darkly. "From what she's told me, this is one of the few opportunities she gets to upstage you three."

"You're still upset about what we did on the Hogwarts Express, aren't you?" Peter asked her as he ambled over to a nearby tree and sat down at the base.

"No," said Scarlett plainly. "But it _was _mean." Peter nodded his agreement.

"I know," he admitted. "But its a family tradition. Dad says it helps build character and self-dependence."

"I guess," said Scarlett. She took a quick look around the grounds and upon seeing no sign of Sam, sat down next to Peter. "So... what was it like?" She asked. "Growing up with two older brothers and two younger sisters?"

"Hell," said Peter dryly. He smiled. "Well, sometimes it is. Sam can be a jerk, Jace can be pompous, Lilly can be whiny, and Nola can be a brat... but they're family. They can be a pain, but I love them." Scarlett just nodded.

"It... must be hard for you," said Peter after a moment. "Not having any real family. I'm sure your adoptive parents are great, but... well, sometimes I'd think you might wish for your real family." Scarlett just shrugged.

"Not really," said Scarlett. "My mum and dad are the best parents I could ever ask for, and I'd never trade them for my birth parents, but I... since I've come to Hogwarts, I've really started wishing I'd known them. I have a lot of questions that they could answer."

"What... sort of questions?" asked Peter. Scarlett could tell he thought he might be asking too many questions, but she didn't mind. In fact, she found it very easy to talk to Peter. He didn't know her, at least not like Lilly, Jake and Hope knew her. He wasn't going to judge her.

"Who I am," said Scarlett quietly. "Where I come from… Why I can do the things I can do. No one else knows anything about it, but they might have had answers... but I'll never know."

"I'm... really sorry, Scarlett," said Peter in a very soft voice. One glance at his face told Scarlett that he didn't have the slightest clue what to say. She shrugged.

"Its not that I miss them," she said lightly. "I never knew them. I just... I don't know."

"Magic can do a lot of things," said Peter knowingly. "Maybe..."

"No magic can reawaken the dead," said Scarlett firmly. "There's some things even magic can't do."

"I didn't say you could bring them back," said Peter. "Maybe you could... talk to them. Summon their spirits or something."

"Yeah," said Scarlett absently. "Maybe... someday." Both of them fell silent after that until Lilly emerged from the trees, leading a disgruntled looking Sam behind her.

"I got him!" Lilly exclaimed triumphantly as she and Sam joined them.

"You let her get you?" Peter asked in a stunned voice.

"I didn't _let _her," Sam replied stiffly. "She... snuck up on me. She's _very_ stealthy. How'd Scarlett get you?"

"Tricked me," said Peter. He seemed reluctant to explain further. "I'd just like to say that, in the future, let's make it a rule that no magic is allowed... especially not when one of us is a superwitch."

"Where's Jace?" Lilly asked Scarlett, ignoring both of her brothers.

"I think I might have killed him," said Scarlett with a shrug. "Or at least I might've knocked him out. He screamed like a girl over there about ten minutes ago. I sent two snowballs after him, and..."

"And missed!" Jace shouted from amongst the branches high above them. He hurled a snowball straight at Lilly and caught her in the face. His next shot was aimed at Scarlett. She raised her hands to shield her face and the snowball rebounded inches from her skin and slammed into Jace's chest with the speed of a bullet. He tumbled out of the tree and fell in a heap at the base of the tree. Peter, Sam, Scarlett and Lilly all ran over and helped him up.

"I'm _so _sorry!" Scarlett exclaimed as Sam tugged his brother to his feet.

"Bloody hell, Carly," Lilly whispered. "How'd you do that?" Scarlett shook her head, looking utterly bewildered.

"Eh… I'm fine," said Jace lightly. "It was only twelve feet. Sam pushed me out of the second story window back home when I was nine."

"You were fine," said Sam dryly.

"I broke my arm in two places, jackass," Jace retorted.

"And dad mended it in about a second," said Sam. "_You were fine_,"

"You all come from warm, loving family," said Scarlett weakly.

"You don't know the half of it," said Peter.

-.-

Scarlett and the Harcourts joined the rest of the school for a Christmas-themed lunch in the Great Hall that afternoon. Scarlett had no extended family, so she always spent Christmas with only her parents and it was typically a fairly small affair. Christmas at Hogwarts was such an event and Scarlett wasn't used to it, but she had to say that Christmas lunch, which was had under a light shower of real snow provided by the magical ceiling, was quite enjoyable. As the meal concluded, Balathar approached where Scarlett and Lilly sat with Lilly's brothers with such a grim look on his face that Scarlett immediately wondered if someone had died.

"I am rescheduling tonight's lesson to 7:00 o'clock," said Balathar when he reached them. "I expect we'll need the extra couple of hours tonight."

"Oh... I... well, I was really looking forward to the Christmas feast and..." Scarlett began, but Balathar cut her off.

"It is imperative that you arrive at my office promptly at 7:00," said Balathar sternly. Scarlett nodded quickly. "Good," Balathar strode away.

"He's a grouchy old bastard, isn't he?" Lilly muttered darkly.

"He's trying to help me," said Scarlett. "Grouchy or not, he just wants what's best for me. I may not like his attitude all of the time, but at least I know he's looking out for me."

"Too bad Professor Grace didn't take such an interest in you," said Lilly. "At least she's nice,"

"And _smoking _hot," said Jace with a dreamy expression on his face. Lilly rolled her eyes.

The five of them spent the afternoon playing Exploding Snap in the empty-except-for-them common room. At ten minutes till seven, Scarlett bade the others goodbye and left for Balathar's office. She rapped on his door right on time, but there was no reply. Balathar typically answered with short, one word replies to knocks on his door such as 'Come!' or 'Enter!', but that night he did not. Perplexed, Scarlett knocked again. This time she heard a loud clang from inside and a curse word Scarlett knew she had never heard before.

"I'll be right there!" Balathar shouted and a few moments later, he pulled open the door.

"I'm sorry about that," he said hurriedly. "I was… er… Well, come on in." He held the door open for her and she stepped passed him. Balathar's office wasn't set up like it normally was for their lessons. Instead, a small table had been placed in the center and decorated for the holidays. Dozens of candles floated in the air above it and same light snow fell from the ceiling as it had done in the Great Hall that afternoon. Scarlett turned back to Balathar with a puzzled expression on her face.

"I was… hoping that we could postpone tonight's lesson," said Balathar delicately. "I thought it might be nice if we shared Christmas dinner together. I know we have developed our relationship as teacher and pupil, but given our shared past I had hoped that we might one day be more than that." Scarlett smiled lightly.

"You know, one of my Muggle friend's teachers got into trouble for being more than a teacher with one of his students," she said with a smirk. Balathar shook his head. The girl had spunk; he had to give her that.

"I didn't mean it like that," he said with a sigh. "I only…"

"I know what you meant," said Scarlett. "And I'd love that." Balathar's face broke into one of the few true smiles Scarlett had ever seen him smile. Looking happier than she had ever seen him, Balathar stepped forward and led her to the table, his hand pressing gently against the small of her back. He pulled out Scarlett's chair for her and once she was seated he walked over to the fireplace to check on what he was cooking.

"I'm afraid to say I'm not the best chef in the world," he admitted reluctantly.

"Oh, I'm sure you're not that bad," said Scarlett kindly. Balathar chuckled.

"I think the school chickens will disagree with you now that I've thinned their numbers by three." Balathar replied. Scarlett's eyes narrowed.

"But you've only got one cooking… oh…"

"Yeah… like I said, not the best chef," he lifted the bird gently out of the fireplace and examined it. "I think this one will turn out nicely. You _do _like boiled chicken, don't you?"

"Oh, yes," said Scarlett brightly.

"Excellent!" said Balathar happily. He lowered the chicken back into its pot and sank into the chair across from Scarlett.

"So..." said Scarlett quietly, feeling rather nervous. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Well, of course!" said Balathar. "Please, anything you'd like!"

"Do you... do you know where my power comes from?" she asked him. "It's... well, I did something earlier. Something weird. I did magic without a wand." Balathar's eyes narrowed in curiosity.

"What _sort _of magic?" he asked interestedly. "Some magic is easily conducted without a wand." He waved his hand toward one of the candles, which winked out.

"It was... a little more advanced than that," said Scarlett. "I moved a snowball. Lilly's brother threw it at me and I threw up my hands and it flew back at him much faster than he threw it."

"Telekinesis," Balathar whispered, his eyes widening in surprise.

"What's that?" Scarlett asked. Balathar shook his head.

"My dear girl, you may well have more powers than I first believed," said Balathar. "Telekinesis, the ability to move objects with your mind, is an advanced form of magic not taught at Hogwarts."

"So, there are different types of magic that we don't learn here?" Scarlett asked.

"Oh, yes," said Balathar. "Many types, in fact. The Dark Arts, of course, are not taught here. But there are also many ancient Wiccan branches that we do not teach. Telekinesis lies within one of those branches."

"So, why can I do... that?" Balathar shrugged.

"My child, you are an enigma wrapped up in a mystery," he told her with a warm smile. "It is possible that we may never know how you do the many amazing things you do. But do the why's and how's even matter? You are what you are, my dear. It's wonderful and beautiful. You are truly a wondrous young girl and you will only become more amazing as you grow up. I foresee you becoming a powerful and influential figure amongst the Magical Community after your time at Hogwarts is done."

Scarlett was truly flattered and the slight flush in her cheeks was clear evidence of it. It struck her suddenly of how much she had changed in the short few months since arriving at Hogwarts. When she first came to school and discovered her abilities, she had been terrified of what she was... of being different... of being special. But now, barely four months later, the idea of becoming more powerful, of being important and respected, was quite appealing to her.

She _wanted _to learn what she could do, to expand and grow her powers and was thrilled that Balathar wanted to help her. She smiled happily to herself. She'd been so lucky since she'd come to Hogwarts. She had found Lilly, and Jake, and Hope, and yes, even Balathar. She wasn't sure what it was about him because he wasn't known to be friendly or even likeable... but she felt close to him, connected somehow. She liked him and she knew he felt the same.

"Well, you didn't invite me here to discuss my abilities," said Scarlett and Balathar returned to the fire. "You said you thought we should get to know each other better, right?"

"I did," Balathar replied, returning with the chicken and placing a serving on Scarlett's plate. "So, why don't you tell me something about yourself? Something I don't know." He sat down across from her and began to ladle some vegetable soup into a bowl. Scarlett looked down at the chicken and smiled.

"Okay," she said, grinning nervously. "Actually, I really don't like boiled chicken." Balathar stared at her for a moment and then both of them dissolved into fits of laughter. For a while, neither of them could stop.


	7. The Midnight Mission

-.-

**Chapter Seven: The Midnight Mission **

-.-

The rest of the evening went by quite pleasantly. Balathar told Scarlett all about his childhood. He explained how he had grown up on the streets of London, about how he had run in a small gang, engaging in small-time robberies and muggings for a few years before his powers at last showed themselves. He told her how he had come to Hogwarts and what the school was like so many years ago.

"I loved Hogwarts," said Balathar idly, leaning back in his seat and glancing across the table at Scarlett, who looked quite interested in his story. "So, I knew before I graduated that I wanted to become a professor here. I had originally been interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Professor Phoebus had already selected Zutharis for the post, so I took the Charms class when it opened up a year later after old Professor Matthews died."

"So, when did you first meet my mum?" Scarlett asked curiously. Balathar shook his head. He looked as though he had no desire to talk about Scarlett's mother.

"She... first came to Hogwarts three years after I took on the teaching position." Balathar began, turning away from Scarlett and gazing into the blazing fire. "I saw her potential very quickly, she..."

"But she wasn't like me?" Scarlett asked. "I mean, she wasn't as attuned to magic as I am?"

"Oh, no," said Balathar. "No, your mother was an amazing witch. She was powerful, but everything she was, everything she could do was learned. Her power came through study and experience. Yours is natural, pure. It is simply in you, a part of you. Your mother's abilities certainly were not."

"So, you didn't tutor her like you do me?" Scarlett inquired.

"I did not," said Balathar firmly. "But that didn't mean I didn't grow close to her. She was a gifted student, that much was obvious. For the first few years, we maintained a professional relationship. It wasn't until her fifth year that we became friends. I knew your mother had a difficult home life, but I had never known the extent of it all until she at last confided in me about the abuse she had suffered. Her parents had been quite cruel to her for nearly her entire life."

"What... what did they do?" Scarlett asked, shocked that no one had ever mentioned this to her. "I mean, what happened?" Balathar shrugged.

"I honestly don't know. She refused to speak of it. I believe Professor Phoebus know, though. She and your mother were quite close friends, even after your mum left Hogwarts. She made regular visits to the school for a few years. That's actually how Alexandra and I... How we..."

"How you ended up having an affair," Scarlett said dryly.

"Yes," said Balathar delicately. "We'd been friends for years, she trusted me. She passed my office late one night. She'd been meeting with Phoebus just before, and... Well, I don't know if something happened... I know she had been fighting with Michael, I... I comforted her and we... well, things happened and... It wasn't easy, you know? Giving her up... giving _you _up. I'd never had a family, and I wanted one." He paused, smiling slightly to himself.

"You look just like her, you know," said Balathar suddenly. "It's strange, the resemblance you share with her. When you were born, I could have sworn you looked just like your father. That's why I didn't question… Why I never… But now, I can't see a trace of him in you. You're a perfect copy of Alexandra when she was eleven."

"So… so you and she… You weren't… I mean, what happened between the two of you was just a one-time thing?" Scarlett asked nervously. Balathar nodded.

"It was," he said quietly. Scarlett couldn't help but notice how sad he looked.

"But you didn't want it to be," she said softly. Balathar smiled.

"No," he admitted. "No, I did not. But your mother… she loved your dad very much. Betraying him nearly destroyed her. Despite what I wanted, what I would've given anything to have; I had to let her go. I loved her enough to let her go, to let her be happy."

"And what about me?" Scarlett asked. She wasn't hurt by the fact that Balathar had walked away, that he hadn't tried to fight for her. She was merely interested in learning as much as she could about the man who could have easily been her father. The man who she now considered a friend.

"If there had been any proof, Scarlett… Hell, if I hadn't immediately known the truth when I first saw you, I would've… I would _never _have let you go. But I knew you weren't my daughter, so… I did what I had to do. I had no right to further disrupt your family, so I backed away." Balathar glanced suddenly at the clock and sat up straight.

"Goodness, I didn't realize it was so late," he said quickly. "It's already past midnight. You ought be off to bed before Phoebus has my head for keeping you out so late. One thing before you go, though," he added as Scarlett stood to her feet. "I've still got to give you your Christmas present. He walked over to a cupboard and rummaged around for a moment before returning with an old, tattered book in his hands.

"This belonged to your mother," he said, holding it out to Scarlett. "It was her journal, her Book of Secrets as she always called it."

"What did she write in it?" Scarlett asked, running her fingers over the ragged leather cover of the small book. Balathar shrugged.

"I don't know," he confessed reluctantly. "Your mother was quite handy with spells and enchantments, my dear. She jinxed it so that no one could open it, but I would suspect… Well, how about that," As soon as Balathar had said that no one had been able to open it, Scarlett had tried for herself and opened it as easily as any other book.

"I… wow…" Scarlett whispered. "How did I…?"

"Well, I always suspected that if Alexandra was going to let anyone have access to her private thoughts, you would be the one." said Balathar with a smile. Scarlett nodded.

"Thank you," she said quietly, holding up the book.

"Of course," Balathar replied. Scarlett was nearly to the door when a thought occurred to her and she stopped.

"Er… Professor?" she said delicately. "How… how is it that you have this?"

"Well, Alexandra gave it to me," said Balathar. "She brought it to me a few days before she died." Scarlett's eyes widened in surprise.

"But why would she give you her diary, her Book of Secrets?" she asked.

"She said she wanted me to keep it safe," said Balathar. "She said I was the only person she could trust with it. She said I should give it to you when I felt you were ready."

"But then… then that would mean that she… that she _knew _she was going to die," said Scarlett in stunned tones. "But that's impossible because she and my dad died in a magical accident. Didn't they?" Balathar shook his head sadly.

"I can't begin to question your mother's intentions, nor the reason for her death," he said firmly. "There is no evidence that your parents deaths were anything more than an accident. Your parents were magical scientists, Scarlett. They dealt with potions and spells so powerful and volatile that something going terribly wrong was, sadly, inevitable. Their deaths were an accident, darling, nothing more." Scarlett nodded.

"Thanks, Professor," she said, turning back toward the door. "Merry Christmas,"

-.-

Scarlett didn't sleep at all that night. Instead, she sat in the common room reading her mother's diary until the sun began to slowly creep across the carpeted floor. Eventually, the soft sound of small feet in house slippers padding down the spiral staircase shook Scarlett from her sleep-deprived reverie and she tore her eyes away from the diary and finally came to rest on Lilly, who had just reached the sofa and sat down next to her.

"Well, good morning," said the blonde. "I waited up for you, you know? Were you at Balathar's all night?"

"I'm sorry, honey," said Scarlett with a smirk. "I just got held up and couldn't get away. _So_ sorry I didn't call."

"Fine," said Lilly, matching Scarlett's grin. "But I'd better not find any lipstick on your shirt."

"Don't search me, then," said Scarlett. "Because you _will _find a pair of panties," Lilly chuckled as Scarlett moved to get up and placed her mother's diary on the seat beside her.

"What's that?" Lilly asked curiously, reaching out and picking up the book.

"My mum's diary," Scarlett replied, yawing widely. "Balathar gave it to me." Lilly tried to thumb through it, but the pages wouldn't come apart. "Oh, yeah," Scarlett added. "My mum jinxed it. According to Balathar, no one can open it but me." Scarlett took the book back, opened it, and handed it back to Lilly. "Here, try it now."

"Your family is really weird," said Lilly dryly, flipping idly through the diary.

"Tell me about it," said Scarlett. "Feel free to look through it if you'd like. I'm going upstairs to get dressed." Scarlett was halfway up the spiral staircase when Lilly called her back.

"Hey, Carly," she shouted from the sofa. "Did you notice these pages in the back?"

"What pages?" Scarlett asked, walking back over and looking down at the diary over Lilly's shoulder.

"These ones," said Lilly. "There are two pages missing here in the back. The last two pages are gone."

"My mum probably just used them as scratch paper or something," said Scarlett with a shrug.

"Or maybe she wanted to hide something!" said Lilly excitedly.

"Or maybe you're overreacting," said Scarlett. "Come on, Lil. It's just a diary. Why would she be… Well, that _is _interesting…"

"What?"

"Well, Balathar told me that my mum gave this diary to him a few days before she died," Scarlett explained. "He said she told him to give it to me when 'I was ready', whatever that means."

"So maybe Balathar took the pages," Lilly suggested. Scarlett shook her head.

"He couldn't have," said Scarlett. "The book only opens for me, remember?"

"Right," said Lilly dejectedly. Scarlett sighed.

"Honestly, Lil, I've got enough to worry about," she said softly. "So, I'm not going to worry about two missing pages from my mum's old Book of Secrets. As long as those pages don't hold the answers to why I'm naturally attuned to magic or some secret, life-changing fact, I really don't care where they are."

Scarlett left Lilly in the common room and went up to the empty dormitory where she immediately began rummaging through her trunk for fresh clothes. She shifted a pile of robes aside and her eyes fell on the old photo album she had decided to bring to school. She hesitated a brief moment before she finally picked up the album and sat down on the edge of her bed. Carefully, she flipped it open to the last page where she kept the only picture of her parents she had.

She glanced toward the open window, where Aura often liked to perch and found the bird gazing at her with her large, amber eyes. She blinking and tilted her head in a way that clearly said 'See? I told you so,'. Scarlett smiled.

"Thanks, Aura," she said softly. Aura fluttered over and settled onto her master's shoulder. She gently nipped the girl's ear in an affectionate sort of way. Scarlett's smile widened, but then faded as she looked down at the tattered photo. "I've never missed them before," she told the owl as she watched her parents waving happily up at her. "But God, Aura... I really miss them now."

"Hey, Carly, I was thinking today we could... oh..." Lilly broke off and stopped halfway into the dormitory when she noticed Scarlett. The brunette looked up at Lilly and suddenly realized that her cheeks were wet.

"Are... are you okay, Carls?" Lilly asked concernedly. Scarlett shook her head emphatically.

"No, Lil," she said, not even trying to hide her tears. Lilly moved over and sat down beside her. Aura took flight and landing gently on Scarlett's bedside table. Lilly looked down at the picture in Scarlett's hands. The blonde smiled slightly.

"These are your parents, aren't they?" Lilly asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett said thickly.

"I... uh... I'm not really good at... er... well, feelings and things," Lilly confessed. "I know you must really miss them. I... don't really know what to say."

"There's nothing to say," said Scarlett, shaking her head. "There's just... so many questions I need answers to. So many things I wish I could talk to them about... things I don't understand. It's all been so much, so fast... It's just so overwhelming."

"Well," said Lilly brightly. "How about I take your mind off of your freakish superpowers and suggest we start planning our little trip?"

"What trip?" Scarlett asked, carefully placing the photo of her parents back into the album.

"Our raid of the secret Orbstone chamber, remember?" Lilly asked. "I thought we were going back tonight."

"Oh, right," said Scarlett. The events of the previous night had driven the Orbstone completely from her mind, but the moment Lilly mentioned it, it all came flooding back.

"Okay then," said Lilly. "So, what's the plan? We take the map with us under the cloak and sneak back in?"

"I'd say so, yeah," Scarlett replied. Lilly bit her lower lip thoughtfully.

"Carly, I said I'd go with you, and I will... but I'd like to at least know what you're planning on doing. I mean, we can't go down there every day to make sure the bloody thing is still there. We'd be caught for sure!"

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Lily-pad," said Scarlett quietly. "I just... need to see it again. I've said before that I can't explain it, but I'm connected to that stone somehow." Lilly considered her best friend for a moment and then nodded.

"Well, okay then," she said with a shrug. "I guess that's good enough for me."

-.-

It was midnight. Hogwarts was dark and eerily silent as Scarlett and Lilly crept out of Gryffindor Tower huddled together under the Invisibility Cloak. The seventh floor was completely deserted as the two girls eased open the door that led to the Orbstone's chamber. Once inside, Lilly checked to ensure that the door was locked behind them while Scarlett looked around with a rather confused expression on her face.

"It... it's not happening this time," she said uncertainly.

"What's not happening?" Lilly asked, pulling out the Marauder's Map and scanning it's many passages and corridors.

"Last time, I... I knew exactly where to go and what to do. It was like I was under someone else's control. This time... I'm still just me."

"I'd rather you stay you," said Lilly dryly. "You really scared us last time,"

"Yeah..." said Scarlett absently. "Anything?" Lilly looked up from the Marauder's Map and shook her head.

"Nope. There's no one anywhere close to the seventh floor. We should be okay,"

"Good," Scarlett replied. Without another word, she set off down the corridor. As they walked, the magical cracks and pops filled the air indicating the collapse of the dozens of magical barriers and enchantments.

"I still don't get it," said Lilly quietly. "What the hell good are all these enchantments if they break when two first years pass by?" Scarlett didn't know and she didn't bother to answer. Something altogether more important had attracted her attention. Up ahead in the otherwise completed corridor was a massive, gaping hole right in the center of the floor. It looked as though roughly fifteen feet of floor had simply disappeared, leaving a black, seemingly bottomless maw in its place.

"Bloody hell..." Lilly whispered as she and Scarlett came to a halt at the edge of the pit. "That's... different."

"So I guess the teachers are still adding new protection for the Orbstone," said Scarlett. She shrugged. "Well, either that or the castle is disintegrating... which wouldn't be the strangest thing that's happened this year." '

"How do we get across?" asked Lilly, kneeling down beside the gap and lighting her wand tip to see if she could make out the bottom.

"We don't unless you've learned to fly and have been keeping it a secret," Scarlett replied. "I mean there's..."

"There's _this_!" said Lilly suddenly. Scarlett looked down at her and saw that she was slapping her hand on what could only be some sort of invisible, yet solid, object in the gap. "It feels like some kind of bridge or beam laying across the gap! We could walked across it!"

"But Lilly it's invisible!" Scarlett exclaimed, joining the blonde on the floor and feeling the beam for herself.

"So we'll have to take it slow," said Lilly firmly. "We'll feel our way across... just in case this thing doesn't go all the way across."

"Fine," said Scarlett, trying not to let the pure terror she felt show on her already pale face. "I'll go first."

"You try crawling across," Lilly suggested as Scarlett tentatively tapped the invisible beam with her foot.

"Right..." Scarlett muttered. She knelt down and slowly began making her way across the beam. She stared straight ahead, knowing that if she looked down she would appear to be floating along in midair. After what felt like an hour, she reached the other side. Shaking and feeling like she was about to pass out, she stood to her feet and looked across at Lilly.

"It's okay," said Scarlett. "You'll be fine. It's not so bad."

"Okay," Lilly replied, carefully starting off across the beam. Everything seemed to be going fine. But when Lilly was halfway across the beam, it happened. The entire corridor began to shake violently and Lilly slipped from the beam and swung over the side, clinging to the beam with the tips of her fingers. Scarlett's mind was a blur as she scrambled back across the beam, hardly aware of where she was or of the horrible death that awaited her should she slip.

"Lilly!" Scarlett screamed, seizing the girl's arm. "Lilly, try to..." But she never got to finish. It felt as though the entire beam rolled right over in midair, tossing both girls from the invisible surface. Scarlett's small hand latched onto the beam, while somehow managing to still keep a grasp on Lilly's arm. Lilly looked up at her with terror in her blue eyes.

"I'm going to try and pull us up!" Scarlett called down to her.

"You'll never do that!" Lilly shouted back. Scarlett knew it was true. In fact, her fingers were already slipping. She couldn't even hold both of them, much less pull them back up.

"Let me go," Lilly said quietly. "Carly, let me go,"

"No!" Scarlett said tearfully. "Lilly, no!"

"Maybe the drop isn't as far as we think," Lilly said, but her voice told Scarlett that Lilly didn't believe that for a second.

"I'm _not _going to drop you!" Scarlett said resolutely, her fingers aching with the strain of holding them both up.

"Carly, you can't hold us!" Lilly screamed. "There's no point in both of us dying!"

"You're asking me to live without you!" Scarlett shouted, voicing feelings she hadn't realized until that moment that she felt. "And I can't do that!" A moment later the last of Scarlett's strength gave out and both of them started to fall... and then they were lying on the cold stone floor that had suddenly appeared beneath them, plugging the gap in the corridor.

"What... the... hell?" said Lilly, gasping for breath. Scarlett didn't answer, but instead engulfed the blonde in a tight hug.

"Lilly, I'm _so sorry_," Scarlett moaned, squeezing the other girl tightly as though the world would end if she let go. "I should've never brought you down here! I shouldn't have asked for..."

"Carly, baby, I'm _fine_," Lilly stressed, gently stroking the brunette's hair. "We're both fine. It's okay, honey, I'm..."

"_You have passed the test_," said a deep, echoing voice that caused both girls to look wildly around in all directions. "_You have completed the trial and now you know the secret to claim your prize. The answer lies here, in what you've done today. The answer lies in the mirror._"

"And I'm gonna say it again," Lilly deadpanned. "What... the... hell?"

"What test did we pass?" Scarlett asked, hoping the voice would answer her.

"And what answer?" said Lilly. "And how does it lie in the mirror? What does that mean?" Scarlett shook her head.

"I don't know, Lil," she said quietly. She gestured down the corridor. "C'mon, let's go."

"Well, we know one thing," said Lilly as they set off down the corridor once again. "You can't live without me."

"Lilly..."

"Oh, no, it's really sweet." said Lilly, smiling serenely. "You _love _me. You'd _die_ without me. You secretly _long_ for my touch."

"Bloody hell, Lil," said Scarlett exasperatedly. "Can we just...? Yeah..." Lilly let the matter drop, although Scarlett noticed the pleased smile on the blonde's lips remained as they continued down the corridor. The Orbstone chamber materialized in front of them when they reached the end of the corridor.

"So, you're not going to speak in the weird language this time?" Lilly asked.

"I guess not," Scarlett replied. "Good thing, too. I haven't the foggiest idea what I said to open this last time."

"So... what do we do?" Lilly asked, stepping up to the empty pedestal. "Last time you took my hand and..." Scarlett reached out, took Lilly's hand and placed her other on the pedestal. The Orbstone magically appeared with a clap of thunder, floating serenely atop the pedestal.

"I wish I knew what it was," said Scarlett, gazing imploringly at the stone as though hoping it would speak to her.

"Maybe this will tell you," Lilly suggested, pointing at the base of the pedestal where the words _Evolla noitidno cnu, laerev ahohw esohtot. Evo lfore wope urt ehtdna tsrednu ohweso httub enonot flesti laeverl liwe nots broeht. Tiesu yamw efyln otub, sevilr ewope hter ocymn ihitw _were inscribed.

"Possibly," said Scarlett, not taking her eyes off of the stone. "But unless you're able to read... whatever language that is, it doesn't help us much."

"Well, maybe we could find it somewhere," said Lilly. "In a dictionary or something in the library. Here..." She pulled out a piece of parchment from her pocket and began to copy down the words with her wand.

"There," she said after a couple of minutes. "Now if we find out what language this is, we won't have to come back down here to translate it. But I'd still bet that..." She fell silent abruptly and Scarlett immediately knew why. The echoing sounds of what could only be footsteps were approaching from the corridor. Scarlett quickly touched the pedestal. The stone disappeared instantly. Lilly had just tossed the Invisibility Cloak over their heads when Professor Zutharis appeared in the doorway.

He looked around for a moment as though checking for intruders. Then, once assured that he was quite alone, he approached the pedestal. He drew his wand and whispered words in a language neither Lilly nor Scarlett could understand and the Orbstone appeared again above the pedestal. He reached out to touch it, but a bluish field of magical energy crackled to life around the stone and a bolt of electricity shot out and zapped his hand. He leapt back and let out a yelp of pain.

"Damn it!" He exclaimed, massaging his hand which had a large, black burn on it. But then Scarlett noticed he was smiling. "Very clever, Phoebus. Very clever, indeed. You won't find many capable of breaking _that _enchantment. Most impressive…" He shook his head and retreated back down the corridor with a swish of his black cloak. Under the Invisibility Cloak, Lilly and Scarlett stared at each other unable to believe what had just happened.


	8. The Muggleborn Proliferation Act

-.-

**Chapter Eight: The Muggleborn Proliferation Act**

-.-

"I'll say it one more time," Lilly gasped as she and Scarlett burst back into the Gryffindor common room and threw off the Invisibility Cloak. "What… the… hell? Zutharis? He's the one after the Orbstone?"

"We don't know that," Scarlett countered, falling onto the sofa.

"The hell we don't!" Lilly exclaimed. "Carly, he might as well have outright said he's trying to steal it! Why else would he have gone down there?"

"The same reason we did," Scarlett suggested. "To make sure it's still there,"

"And to test out its defenses?" Lilly asked incredulously. "He wanted to see what protection the other teachers put over the stone! The wards and enchantments that break when we pass go back up once we're through! Unless they go down for everyone, which doesn't make a bit of sense, he had to lower all of them to get in there! Then he was surprised by whatever Professor Phoebus did to guard it!"

"Maybe," said Scarlett. "Or maybe he was just coming down to see Phoebus's protective spell for himself. He's the potions master of the school, Lilly! Why would anyone inside Hogwarts want to steal the Orbstone? Phoebus must trust all of the teachers or they wouldn't be here!"

"If someone's trying to steal the stone, wouldn't it make sense for it to be one of the teachers?" Lilly asked. "Maybe Zutharis is working for someone... he could be an inside man or something! We need to go to Phoebus with this!"

"With _what_?" Scarlett exclaimed. It was only then that Scarlett sounded truly angry. "With _what_, Lilly? We've got no proof of anything! If we go to Phoebus then we'll have to tell her what we did! And then it would be our word against a teacher's! Who's she going to believe? Two first years that broke into the one place in the school we're not ever supposed to go or the potions master!"

"Okay, okay, you're right," Lilly admitted, holding out her hands. "Calm down, I'm sorry. Maybe we could go to Balathar, then. I know he's a teacher, but if we just explain what happened... if we tell him what we saw... I mean he really likes you, he wouldn't get you expelled, not even if he knew you'd seen the Orbstone." Scarlett nodded slowly. She had to admit, Lilly was probably right. Balathar truly seemed to care about her and she didn't really believe he would have her expelled. So, maybe...

"Alright," said Scarlett resignedly. "I'll go and talk to him and tell him what happened." She stood up and walked toward the portrait hole. "Stay here," she added when Lilly made to follow her. "I'm not going to tell him that you were there. He doesn't need to know that."

"But I _was _there!" said Lilly. "I can back you up, help prove you're telling the truth!"

"Lil, you wouldn't have been there if it weren't for me," said Scarlett quietly. "I'm not going to let you risk getting expelled just in case Balathar doesn't like me as much as I think he does,"

"Carls, I _chose _to come with you," Lilly said firmly. "I chose to go and I've got to face the consequences."

"No, Lilly, none of this is your business," said Scarlett. "I couldn't live with myself if I ruined your chance to become a witch. Stay here while I talk to Balathar. He doesn't need to know about you. I'll just pretend I went alone. If anyone asks, you were up in the dormitory all night. We're the only Gryffindor girls left at Hogwarts so no one could question it."

"Carly, I don't want you doing this alone,"

"I don't want to do this at all, Lilly," Scarlett replied. "But you're right. I've got to tell someone. It might as well be Balathar."

-.-

Scarlett set off through the castle, fully aware that it was likely around four in the morning and she was therefore out after curfew and would no doubt receive detention were she to be caught. She encountered no one as she made her way to Balathar's personal quarters. She had never visited the place where Balathar lived, but Balathar had told her where it was and that she should come by any time she needed to. She couldn't be sure if he had really meant _any time_, but given the circumstances, she hoped he would understand.

She reached Balathar's door within minutes and knocked softly on the wooden surface. There was a strangled groan from the other side, the sound of shuffling footsteps, the rattle of a lock being slid back, and the door opened to reveal a grumpy-looking Balathar staring down at her through bleary eyes. His expression brightened when he saw her, but he was still clearly very sleepy. Nevertheless, he stood back to let her in.

"So... to what do I owe this late-night visit?" Balathar asked her, offering her a seat on his sofa. Balathar himself then sank down onto the foot of his bed. Scarlett wasn't immediately sure where to begin. A thousand different strategies ran through her mind, but in the end she settled on taking the same tact she had with Doddard and cut right to the chase. There was, after all, no reason to beat around the bush. What she had to say wouldn't sound any better no matter how she said it. She cleared her throat nervously.

"I know about the Orbstone," she said firmly. "And more to the point," she added before Balathar could speak. "I've seen it." Balathar gazed at her more seriously than he ever had before.

"That's impossible," said Balathar firmly. 'Why does everyone keep saying that?' Scarlett wondered.

"It's not impossible, I've seen it," Scarlett said just as firmly. "It's a blue stone, roughly fist-sized. It's magically cloaked atop a crystal pedestal with strange words carved into the base at the end of a corridor off of the seventh floor. It is protected by what I believe to be dozens of magical enchantments and barriers… all of which collapse whenever I pass by. You know that's exactly how it's protected and what the chamber looks like, Professor."

"Why… are you telling me this?" Balathar asked. He appeared not to know what to say or how he should respond.

"I'm telling you because I wasn't the only one down there," Scarlett replied. "When I was there… Zutharis showed up." Balathar's eyes narrowed suddenly.

"Z... Zutharis was there?" he asked, sounding genuinely shocked. "Did he see you?"

"No, I… hid," said Scarlett. For the briefest of moments she considered telling him about the cloak, but that would mean telling him about the Marauder's Map and the chest of books and other objects that had arrived on Christmas morning. Even though she trusted Balathar, she was quite certain some of those items wouldn't be allowed at Hogwarts and she didn't need anything else to get her into further trouble.

"He didn't see me and he tried to touch the Orbstone but some sort of magical field zapped his hand. It looked like a pretty serious injury because his hand was blackened where the energy touched him, I… I don't know. But then he said that Phoebus was 'clever' and that 'not many people would be able to break her enchantment'."

"And you believe Zutharis might possibly have been attempting to… steal the Orbstone," Balathar asked curiously.

"Possibly," said Scarlett uncertainly. Balathar sighed and stood to his feet. He began pacing the length of the room. Scarlett waited breathlessly.

"Well, I'm not going to ask why you went directly against not only my instructions but against Professor Phoebus's as well," he said sharply as he paced. "Nor am I going to question why some of the most powerful magical enchantments in existence, enchantments that should instantly kill anyone who comes into contact with them, simply drop away when you pass them. I'll just chock that as another enigma surrounding you. However, since you already know about the stone, there is little reason to continue to hide the truth from you." He paused and sat back down on the edge of his bed.

"Professor Phoebus is certain that someone will attempt to steal the Orbstone," he said firmly. "She believes that everyone within the walls of Hogwarts is trustworthy, but I feel that anyone who wants that stone would absolutely need an inside-man. I've had my suspicions about Zutharis for some time. He had shone great interest in the protective enchantments surrounding the stone and I know he has asked Phoebus directly about the enchantments she has placed over the stone."

"So you think he's up to something?" Scarlett asked.

"I do," said Balathar. "Especially now that you've seen him in the chamber. Professor Phoebus insisted when the Orbstone was brought here that no one, not even a teacher, was to go into the chamber alone. At least two people were to go in, no exceptions."

"Then we need to tell Phoebus!" Scarlett exclaimed, leaping to her feet.

"And we will," said Balathar gently. "Or at least _I _will. Listen, Scarlet, no matter how noble your intentions were in coming to me, you were out-of-bounds doing something you knew you would be expelled for doing. Now, I'm not going to tell Phoebus you were in there. Despite the information about Zutharis, she would expel you for what you did."

"So… what are we going to do?" Scarlett asked nervously.

"I will tell Phoebus that I was walking you back to your dormitory," Balathar said thoughtfully. "If she asks, our evening lesson ran long and I did not want you out in the corridors alone so late. Upon leaving you in the common room, I will claim to have seen Zutharis entering the seventh floor. I followed him and heard him say everything you say he said."

"But Zutharis would have seen you," said Scarlett, pointing out what she thought was perfectly obvious but Balathar seemed to have overlooked it. Balathar smiled gently.

"Oh, I have methods of magical concealment that most are not capable of," said Balathar. "If I did not wish for someone to know I was there, they would not know. She will believe that I was there. I have questioned Phoebus's trust in Zutharis in the past, so this will all fit together well. She needn't know of your involvement… however, you must _promise _me that you will _never _go into the Orbstone chamber without permission again."

"Of course," said Scarlett breathlessly.

"Good," Balathar replied. "Now, go back to your dormitory. I will speak with Phoebus in the morning. Don't worry about anything, my dear. I'll take care of everything."

-.-

"And that's all he said?" Lilly asked as she and Scarlett made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast the following morning.

"Yeah," said Scarlett with a shrug. "Just that he'd talk to Phoebus and that he would take care of it. We can't do anything but let him do it his way."

"It's good of him to protect you like that," said Lilly, draping an arm around her best friend's shoulders. "And it was good of _you _to protect _me_. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Well, you're my defender, right?" asked Scarlett with a smile. "Protecting me from the bad dreams, remember? It's only fair I returned the favor. After all, I can't live without you..."

"Alright, look," said Lilly sharply, stopped in the middle of the corridor and pulling Scarlett over to the wall, where she gently but firmly pressed her up against it and held her there with one and on her shoulder. Scarlett stared at her with a 'what-the-hell-are-you-doing?' expression on her face. "I made fun of you last night and I'm sorry for that. I told you I wasn't good with feelings and things and... well, I didn't want to say that I... well, that if our positions had been reversed and you'd been the one dangling off of that beam... I'd have rather gone over with you too."

Scarlett tilted her head back just slightly to look into Lilly's eyes. She had never truly noticed that the blonde was just a tiny bit taller than she was. Scarlett nodded slightly and swallowed the lump that had grown in her throat.

"Isn't that weird?" Scarlett asked suddenly, knowing that doing so was completely ruining the heartwarmingly sweet moment they had been sharing. Lilly's eyes narrowed.

"Did you just say that's weird?" the blonde demanded. Scarlett shrugged.

"I mean, think about it," Scarlett replied, tugging the other girl's hand off of her shoulder and leading her on down the corridor. "We've known each other for what? Four months? And we both would've fallen off that thing for the other without hesitation. Lilly, there's no one else I would've done that for. I love my parents more than anything, but if they were going to die I wouldn't volunteer to go with them. In place of them, sure, but if I couldn't save them I wouldn't decide to go and join them."

"I know," said Lilly, shaking her head. "I wouldn't do it for anyone else, either. But the thought of you not being around... of not waking up and looking over to my right and you not being there..."

"I know," said Scarlett. "Which leads me back to 'isn't that weird?'"

"I'm not sure 'weird' is exactly the right word… mainly because I don't think the right word exists, but… at least I feel loved." She smiled warmly at the brunette, who returned the gesture and they continued on to breakfast, arm-in-arm.

-.-

For the rest of the week, life was normal for Lilly and Scarlett… well, at least as normal as life could be at Hogwarts. Balathar had apparently kept his word and not mentioned Scarlett's involvement in anything related to the Orbstone because she was yet to be expelled. Professor Phoebus, however, must not have taken Balathar at his word, because Zutharis was still at Hogwarts as well, even though Balathar claimed that Phoebus had listened and was watching. Scarlett didn't have any idea what that meant, but she too had kept her word and avoided the Orbstone and the seventh floor like she had said she would.

Nothing else of note took place at Hogwarts until the week after New Year's Day. Jake, Hope and the rest of the school returned to the castle a week after Scarlett and Lilly's journey to the Orbstone chamber. Both girls had immediately taken their friends aside and regaled them with the tale of what had happened while they had been away.

"And Zutharis is still teaching?" Jake exclaimed in surprise as he and the trio of girls sat down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast on the first morning of classes.

"Balathar says Phoebus is 'watching'," Scarlett said with a shrug.

"Whatever that means," Lilly added grimly.

"But Balathar thinks Zutharis is definitely up to something? Hope asked, buttering herself a biscuit. Scarlett nodded.

"He said he's talked to Phoebus about Zutharis before this," she explained. "He's had suspicions for a while, I guess."

"Well, maybe she's just..." But Jake was interrupted by the arrival of hundreds of owls streaming into the hall to deliver the morning post. Aura landed in front of Scarlett and held out her leg, waiting for her mistress to untied the copy of _The Daily Prophet _that was secured there.

"Thanks, Aura," Scarlett said as she relieved the owl of its burden. Aura hooted appreciatively, dipped her beak into Scarlett's orange juice and accepted the piece of bread Lilly offered her before taking flight again to go join the other owls in the Owlery.

"Since when do you get the newspaper delivered?" Jake asked Scarlett as the brunette unfolded the paper. Scarlett shrugged.

"What? I like to keep up with what's going on in the wizarding world and it's not easy at Hogwarts without taking the paper, so I... oh no!" Scarlett flatted the paper across the table, revealing the front page which bore the headline: _Ministry approves Muggleborn-Proliferation Act_.

"Bloody hell!" Lilly exclaimed as Jake and Hope hurried around the table to read the article over Lilly and Scarlett's shoulders.

_Over the weekend, members of the wizard high council, the Wizengamot, __have sat through several high-level meetings and have just this morning __announced the approval of the hotly debated Muggleborn Proliferation Act. __The act in question has been a subject of increasing controversy since it was __first proposed by a radical section of the Wizengamot that wishes to completely __remove all Muggleborn witches and wizards from the wizarding world. _

_The __Muggleborn Proliferation Act, otherwise known as the M.P.A., does not go as __far as those who first suggested it wish, but it a massive first step. __The M.P.A., once fully integrated into wizard law, will essentially ban all __Muggleborn witches and wizards from attending magical schools or, in fact, __living within the magical world altogether. This will not currently effect Muggleborns that are already attending magical schools or that live and work within the Ministry __or are otherwise employed in the magical world. _

_'This is a fantastic first step,' said Ghingrich Carson, former head of the Department of __International Magical Cooperation and current leader of the so-called Purity Movement._

_'We of the Purity Movement are excited to see this legislation pass and are looking forward to where we go from here and the work we can continue to do to eventually __reach the point where our world is truly what it was always meant to be. To be free __of Muggles and their perversion of our bloodlines.' _

_While Mr. Carson may view this legislation as a victory and a sign of things to come, many within the magical community, both local and aboard, are voicing their concerns._

_'This is truly appalling,' said Elizabeth Parker, a spokeswoman for the American Magical Republic. 'This type of racism cannot be allowed. This is yet another attempt to oppress our Muggleborn brothers and sisters.'_

_The American Magical Republic, which has recently had difficulties with the British Ministry of Magic, has officially condemned the Ministry's actions, declaring the M.P.A. 'A crime against all Wizardkind'. The Republic has also opened their arms to any Muggleborn families that wish to live within a magical community._

_Meanwhile, the Ministries of France, German, and Spain have remained silent on the subject, stating that their governments will adopt a 'wait-and-see' approach. _

"Good reading, eh?" a simpering voice said from behind them. The four of them looked around and found Mikayla Carson smiling victoriously down at them. Lilly told Mikayla to go do something very obscene indeed.

"Nice mouth, Harcourt," said Mikayla. "You ought to watch that with the teachers around."

"Hard to stop myself with a bitch like you around, Mikki," said Lilly with a shrug.

"Ooooh, and name-calling too," hissed Mikayla. "You're clever. Did your daddy buy your sense of humor?"

"Sod off, Mikki!" Lilly shouted, leaping to her feet and glaring daggers at Mikayla.

"Lilly," Scarlett said stoically. "Calm down,"

"Yeah, calm down Harcourt," said Mikayla. "Wouldn't want you taking on more than you can handle."

"I can take you anytime you'd like," Lilly burst out savagely.

"Oh yeah?" Mikayla asked, venom in her voice.

"Hell yes," Lilly hissed.

"Lilly," Scarlett said warningly. Hope and Jake were both frozen in shock.

"Listen to your girlfriend, Lil," said Mikayla, smirking. "Don't go biting off more than you can chew, little girl." Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Fuck off, Mikki," Lilly growled. She flung herself back into her seat. Behind her, Mikayla drew her wand. Scarlett wasn't sure how she knew the Slytherin was armed, nor how she knew she was about to curse Lilly under the gaze of half the school. All she knew what that she had to do something to stop her. As Mikayla raised her wand, Scarlett snapped her head around to stare at the girl and her wand shot out of her hand like a rocket.

"Oh my," said Scarlett humorously. "Mikki, darling, you really need to keep a firmer grip on your wand. That's really shoddy wandwork there, dear, letting your wand fly out of your hand like that." Hope and Jake burst out laughing at the murderous expression on Mikayla's face and the look of true concern on Scarlett's. "If you'd like some advice, I'd be happy to help later..."

"I don't need your help!" Mikayla shouted. "You did that! I know you did!" She snatched up her wand off of the floor, looking furious.

"I didn't do anything," said Scarlett innocently. "My wand's in my bag, after all." Huffing, Mikayla turned away and stormed off toward the Entrance Hall. Scarlett smirked at her friends, leaned back in her seat watched Mikayla as she reached the doors into the Entrance Hall. Scarlett blinked and Mikayla tumbled headfirst through the doors and landed in a heap on the floor. The Great Hall exploded with laughter as Mikayla's twin blonde friends, the Greene sisters, rushed over to her from the Slytherin table and helped her to her feet. Lilly's brother Peter caught Scarlett's eyes from further down the table and Scarlett winked victoriously at him.

-.-

With the End-of-the-Year exams fast approaching, the homework load increased tremendously for the entire school. It came as a great surprise to Scarlett when Hope mentioned on Easter Sunday that they only had a little over two months left until the summer holidays.

Scarlett's private lessons with Balathar had changed since Scarlett's discovery of her new powers. She explained to Balathar that same day when she had disarmed Mikayla with only her mind and had then proceeded to trip her up on her way out of the Hall. Balathar had been truly impressed with her new abilities and their lessons had evolved to practicing and exploring her telekinetic powers.

"I can't!" Scarlett exclaimed, gasping in effort as she tried to push Balathar's desk across his office. "It's too big!"

"Well, your abilities are only just coming out," said Balathar warmly. "I'm not surprised you're only able to move small objects. It'll take time to grow and develop your power, after all." Scarlett nodded and sank into a desk chair. She hesitated for a moment, wondering how best to approach the topic she had avoided since Christmas. The Orbstone, she knew, remained secure for now and Zutharis was still employed at Hogwarts. Balathar had obviously kept his word and not said anything to Phoebus, but she couldn't help but notice the peculiar looks the headmistress had been giving her since the Christmas holidays.

"You look troubled," said Balathar, looking down at her.

"I was just... thinking about the Orbstone," said Scarlett slowly.

"You haven't gone back down there, have you?" Balathar asked sternly. Scarlett shook her head emphatically.

"No! No, I... I haven't, I... I just can't stop thinking about it. Has Professor Phoebus said anything else about Professor Zutharis?"

"She has not," said Balathar. He looked particularly perturbed. "I have been keeping an eye on him, discreetly of course, but I believe he knows I suspect him. He has been purposely avoiding the seventh floor recently."

"But you're sure the Orbstone is still safe?" Scarlett asked. "I mean, he's not avoiding the seventh floor because it's already gone, is he?" Balathar smiled and shook his head.

"The stone is perfectly safe, my dear," he said gently. "I check on it personally everyday."

"Good," said Scarlett. "Good, I'm glad you're keeping an eye on it." Balathar moved over and sat down in the seat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"You worry far too much for a little girl," he said sadly. "You're only a child and you're concerning yourself in adult matters. The stone isn't your concern, Scarlett. We have the situation well in hand." Scarlett tilted her head and gave Balathar a skeptical look. He grinned.

"You look so much like your mother," he said fondly. "So much like her, you really have no idea." He cupped her cheek gently, smiling warmly at her.

"You really cared about her, didn't you?" Scarlett asked him. Balathar nodded slowly, but emphatically.

"Your mother meant the world to me, Scarlett," he replied. "She was a very beautiful and wonderful girl... and so are you." Scarlett smiled shyly at that, but didn't reply.

"What do you say we cut tonight's lesson a little short?" Balathar asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "Yeah, okay,"

"Go on down to dinner," said Balathar. "We'll pick this up tomorrow night." Scarlett left Balathar's office and joined her friends in the Great Hall for dinner. Exhausted, she and the others made their way up to Gryffindor Tower before anyone else. The girls said goodnight to Jake, who still had an essay to complete before morning, and hurried up the spiral staircase. When they opened the door to their dormitory, they recieved quite a shock.

At first glance the room appeared to have been ransacked, but upon closer inspection they discovered that it was only Scarlett's belonging that had been rifled through. Her trunk stood open at the foot of her bed, which was completed torn apart. The blankets lay twisted in a heap atop the otherwise bare mattress. Her clothing spilled out of her opened trunk and were spread across the floor and her bed.

"Holy..." Hope whispered in surprise as she took in the mess.

"I'll bet it was Mikayla," said Lilly earnestly. "She's wanted to get back at you for weeks for what happened in the Great Hall."

"It couldn't have been," said Scarlett as she checked to ensure that the chest in which she kept the Invisibility Cloak, Marauder's Map, and all the other mysterious items she had gotten for Christmas was still in her trunk. "It had to be a Gryffindor. No one else could've gotten into the tower... unless it was one of the teachers..."

"You should report this," said Hope. "Go tell Balathar about it."

"I'll tell him tomorrow," said Scarlett, grabbing several pairs of underwear off of her bed and piling them into her trunk along with her blouses, skirts and robes. "It's already late, I don't want to bother him tonight."

"Is anything missing?" Lilly asked, helping gather Scarlett's scattered belongings and returning them to her trunk. Scarlett looked around and shook her head.

"No... no, I don't think so," she replied. "And nothing's broken either."

"Okay, I don't get it," said Hope, smoothing out Scarlett's blankets for her. "Someone sneaks up here, scatters all of your stuff across the dormitory and then just leaves? Why? What for? What's the point?"

"To be obnoxious?" Lilly suggested. "A bad joke?" Scarlett shrugged.

"We'll just add it to the list of weird things that keep happening to me," she said wearily. Lilly and Hope both returned to the common room to tell Jake what had happened. Scarlett, meanwhile, decided to just go to bed. She tugged her nightgown out of her trunk and was halfway through unbuttoning the buttons on her blouse when she froze. She felt quite certain that someone was in the dormitory with her, watching her. She snatched up her wand and looked around the room, but she couldn't see anyone.

"_Revelio!_" Scarlett whispered, raising her wand and turning slowly on the spot. She completed a full circle, but the spell revealed nothing. It was then that she could have sworn she felt someone standing right behind her. She spun around, wand raised but the room behind her was just as vacant as the rest of the dormitory.

"Who are you?" She asked the empty room. "What do you want?" No one replied. In fact, the sensation of being watched was withdrawing. Moments later it was gone completely and Lilly and Hope were returning to the dormitory.

"What's that for?" Lilly asked, eyeing Scarlett's wand. Scarlett glanced down at her wand and shook her head.

"Oh... nothing," she said idly, tossing her wand onto her bed and began to finish getting undressed. If any of the girls had been paying attention, they might have noticed the door to the dormitory shift slightly as though an invisible someone were slipping through it.


	9. Trust

-.-

**Chapter Nine: Trust**

-.-

Scarlett was beginning to think she was going crazy. She had never mentioned her experience in the dormitory to any of her friends, but as the days passed she began to have repeat experiences. Several times throughout the week she had moments when she felt the unmistakable feeling of being watched. In the common room, the dormitory, in the bathroom, or just walking down a corridor. Something very strange was going on, but like usual, she had no idea what it was. And also like usual, she had only one person she felt she could ask.

"Professor, do you have a minute?" Scarlett asked after class that Friday morning. Balathar looked up at her from his desk. She couldn't help but notice his tired eyes lingered on her before finally meeting her gaze.

"Of course," he said, wiping his face with his hands. "What's going on?"

"I think I'm losing it," said Scarlett, sinking into one of the desk chairs in front of Balathar's desk. "I keep feeling like someone's watching me... following me... but there's no one there. It first started last weekend. Someone ransacked the dormitory. They didn't take anything, but they tossed all my stuff across the room... almost like they were looking for something. I keep thinking it might be a ghost and I'm being haunted or I'm going absolutely insane."

"Well, you aren't going insane," said Balathar firmly. "I suppose it could be stress..."

"I'm not stressed," said Scarlett. "I know exams are coming up, but I... I really think someone's watching me."

"Well, that's just not possible," said Balathar with a small smile. "It isn't possible to anyone unauthorized to enter this castle. Nevertheless, I will certainly see to it that security is tightened and I want you to come to me immediately if you believe someone is following you. Day or night, my door is always open." Scarlett nodded.

"Thanks," she said quietly. "Well, I've got to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts. If I'm late Professor Grace will be after my skin." She turned and made the long walk from the teacher's desk to the open door while Balathar sat with his hands clasped in front of him, watching her intently until she was gone.

Scarlett made her way back to the Grand Staircase, heading for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Lost in thought, she barely noticed where she was going and nearly collided with Professor Zutharis on the third floor landing.

"Watch where you're going, you silly girl!" Zutharis exclaimed angrily as Scarlett looked confusedly up at him. Her eyes widened as she realized who she had nearly run into.

"I... I'm... I'm sorry, Professor," she said quickly. "I'm sorry, I..."

"Just stand aside," Zutharis growled, pushing passed her and continuing up the stairs. Scarlett watched him go, staying right where she was until she saw the hem of his cloak disappear onto the seventh floor landing. She hesitated for the briefest of moments, knowing she was supposed to be in class. Still, this was her chance! Zutharis was heading straight for the seventh floor. There was every possibility that he was heading back to the Orbstone, which meant she could get proof for Balathar to give to Phoebus.

Throwing caution to the winds, she raced back up the stairs, through the portrait hole, across the common room and up the stairs to her dormitory. She dropped her bag on her bed and threw open her trunk, rummaging for the Invisibility Cloak. She grabbed it and was halfway across the common room when a thought occurred to her and she raced back upstairs and into the empty first year boys dormitory. She knew Jake had brought a camera with him. Being muggleborn, he had said months before that he wanted to take pictures to show his parents over the summer holidays.

It only took her a minute of searching to find it in Jake's bedside cabinet. She hurriedly checked to make she it was loaded with film and then she tore back down into the common room and out into the corridor. The door to the Orbstone chamber was already unlocked when she reached it. Tossing the Invisibility Cloak over herself, she eased it carefully open. The dark room beyond was completely empty. She slipped inside and closed the door. She set off down the corridor, moving quickly but quietly, knowing that stealth was the only way she would get the proof she needed.

The stone's protective wards must have already been lowered because the familiar pops and cracks that usually sounded as she walked down the corridor were absent, yet she passed unopposed. When she at last reached the hidden Orbstone chamber, Zutharis was there as she had suspected. He stood, studying the stone with narrowed eyes. Walking on tip-toes, Scarlett edged closer. Zutharis raised his wand and began muttering strange words Scarlett couldn't understand, but whatever was supposed to happen clearly didn't work because when he lowered his wand and reached for the stone; he was once again zapped by the protective field. Scarlett couldn't begin to guess what sort of protection Phoebus had used, but it was obviously very effective.

"Damn you, Phoebus," Zutharis whispered darkly. "Very well played, old friend. Fine, we'll do this your way." He raised he wand again and began another incantation. Scarlett then seized her chance. Beneath the cloak, she raised Jake's camera. She moved into a position where she could get both Zutharis' face and the Orbstone in the same shot. Praying he wouldn't hear the click, she snapped the picture… and a brilliant strobe of white light briefly illuminated the chamber. She hadn't turned off the flash and apparently the cloak didn't block light.

"Who's there?" Zutharis called out, raising his wand and staring intently at a spot five feet to Scarlett's left. "Reveal yourself!" Scarlett didn't move, didn't breathe as Zutharis began to slowly move about the chamber. He moved to stand in the doorway, appearing to want to block the way out. Scarlett knew that while she may well be invisible, she was still most certainly solid and if Zutharis touched her… if she brushed against him while trying to slip out… No, she _had _to get him to move away. She shoved the camera into her robes pocket and drew her wand, thinking fast and trying to remember a spell Balathar had mentioned in class weeks earlier.

"_Echous!_" Scarlett whispered, aiming her wand at the far side of the chamber from the doorway. There was a sudden crunching sound in the area where she cast the spell, it sounded roughly like someone accidentally scraping against the wall of the chamber. Zutharis' eyes narrowed and he took several steps toward the sound, his wand raised. Scarlett immediately rushed to the door and slipped through as Zutharis continued to investigate the noise.

Once she was sure Zutharis wouldn't hear her, she broke into a run. She raced down the corridor and out onto the seventh floor. She stashed the Invisibility Cloak in her dormitory and then rushed to Balathar's office, where she knew he would be preparing for his next class.

"Scarlett, what are you doing here?" Balathar asked in alarm when Scarlett burst into his office.

"I… I've got… I took…" She was panting for breath, having run the entire way from Gryffindor Tower to Balathar's office. She sank into a desk chair and held out the camera.

"I… I followed Zutharis," she said as she began to catch her breath. "I saw him heading toward the seventh floor and I followed him. He went straight to the Orbstone. I took a picture of him trying to break the enchantment that protects it." Scarlett wasn't sure how she had expected Balathar would react, but she certainly hadn't expected him to give her the absolutely furious look his was giving her now.

"Damn it!" He shouted. "I _told _you not to go back in there, didn't I? You completely ignored me! This is very dangerous! You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"But…" Scarlett began, but Balathar cut her off.

"Don't 'but' me, Scarlett," said Balathar. "I can't keep protecting you if you insist on continuing to flout authority and break the rules. I've told you for the last time not to go back into that room."

"I… I'm sorry," Scarlett said sadly. Balathar had never yelled at her before. When she looked up and saw the anger and disappointment in his eyes, it made her want to cry. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "I just wanted to help, I…" A tear ran down her cheek and she sniffled. She dropped her gaze to the floor. Although she couldn't see it, Balathar's angry expression softened and he sighed. He stood and sat down next to her, but she didn't look at him.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, gently stroking her hair and causing her to look up at him. "I shouldn't have shouted at you, I was just… This is a very dangerous situation, Scarlett. You disobeyed me, defied my instructions which I put in place to protect you. If Zutharis is willing to risk stealing the stone right under Professor Phoebus's nose then he is a dangerous man indeed. I don't believe for a second that he would have hesitated to kill you if he had caught you. It would have been easy for him to make it look as though you died sneaking in there." Still sniffling, Scarlett nodded.

"I'm really sorry," she said thickly, wiping her eyes. "I just thought…"

"I know what you thought," said Balathar. "And as much as I hate to say it, I'm very proud of how brave you were tonight. But you mustn't involve yourself further in this right now. Give me the camera. I'll take a look at the picture and if there is enough evidence, we'll take it to Phoebus."

"I'm sorry, _we_?" said Scarlett abruptly. "I thought I would be expelled if Professor Phoebus knew that I'd gone down there."

"I know, but seeing as you took the picture and saw everything he did, I may need your testimony." said Balathar. "Listen, you know I wouldn't risk getting you into trouble if it wasn't important. With this photograph, we'll have all the evidence we need to prove that Zutharis is guilty. Phoebus won't have any reason to doubt us. If you help us catch him and prove that one of her inner circle was a traitor, I'm certain she would let you off." He smirked. "If not, I'll submit my resignation on the spot. She may not like to admit it, but she needs me around here."

"Okay…" said Scarlett uncertainly. Balathar wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a warm smile.

"Don't sound so worried," he told her. "I'm not going to put you in any danger, I promise. You do trust me, right?"

"Of course," said Scarlett with a small smile. Balathar just grinned and pulled her into a hug.

-.-

"Where have you been?" Lilly exclaimed when Scarlett climbed through the portrait hole into the common room and joined the table she, Jake, and Hope were sitting at. "We told Grace you weren't feeling well so you wouldn't get into trouble but we were starting to get worried." Scarlett explained everything that had happened that morning. By the time she had finished, all three of her friends were staring at her, mouths agape.

"So you've got a _picture _of Zutharis trying to steal the stone?" Hope whispered excitedly.

"Well, Balathar does," Scarlett replied with a shrug. "But it's the same thing. He said if he thinks it proves anything, we'd take it to Phoebus."

"You mean he wants to tell Phoebus what you've been doing?" Lilly asked incredulously, looking up from the parchment she was scribbling on.

"Yeah," said Scarlett dryly. "But he said he didn't think Phoebus would expel me if I helped catch a traitor in her school. If she does, he said he'd resign right then. He says Phoebus needs him around here. I don't like it, but I trust him. If he says he'll protect me, I believe him."

"He's a really good guy, Balathar, isn't he?" said Hope thoughtfully. "Most teachers would've taken you straight to Phoebus already after what you've done." Scarlett nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, yeah he really is…"

"Not to change the subject," said Jake, staring intently at Lilly who was still scribbling away on her parchment. "But what the heck are you doing? No one's given us homework today yet! What are you working on?"

"I'm trying to decipher the language on that pedestal in the Orbstone chamber," said Lilly quietly. "I've been working on it since Christmas, but I can't make heads or tails of it. I've looked up practically every magical language book in the library and these words aren't in any of them! It's… just gibberish!"

"It's probably just a warning," said Hope thoughtfully. "Danger, do not touch… That sort of thing."

"Yeah, it probably just says 'if you touch this, your hand will be zapped by blue lightning… which must be the worst deterrent ever since Zutharis keeps trying to touch it."

"Maybe it kills you if you touch it too many times," Lilly suggested.

"Or maybe his hand will rot and fall off," Jake put in. "That'd be pretty good."

"Why do you want to know what it says so badly?" Scarlett asked curiously. "I mean, I doubt it's going to tell us what the Orbstone is anyway. That's all we don't know at this point, isn't it? The mystery's solved as far as that goes. I just don't want Zutharis to steal it."

"Yeah," Lilly agreed. "But I'd still like to know what it is. After all this time, we still haven't got a clue."

"Balathar must know," said Hope pointedly.

"I'm sure he does," said Scarlett. "But I'll let one of you ask him what it is. He was really angry that I followed Zutharis and took that picture. If I go back and start asking what the Orbstone is again, he'll be after my head."

"Then we'll just have to work it out ourselves," said Lilly, shoving a stack of her language books toward the others. "So, how about a little help?"

"I still don't think working out what that inscription says is going to help us figure out what the Orbstone is," said Jake reluctantly. "Maybe we ought to do a bit of poking around in the library. If the stone is some sort of ancient artifact, it's got to be in a book somewhere."

Just then the bell rang and the four of them collected their bags and headed downstairs to the first floor and the Transfiguration classroom for a session of Double Transfiguration. That afternoon they were attempting to turn an a toothpick into an ice pick. It didn't go very well for any of them. By the end of class, only Scarlett had made any changes to her toothpick.

"At least it was shiny and metal," she said, trying to sound optimistic.

"Yours was a lot better than Robby Papperman's," said Hope pointedly. "He sent his flying across the classroom like a bullet. I wonder how long it'll take the nurse to get that toothpick out of Allen Moran's..."

"I'd rather not talk about that," said Lilly firmly as they sat down in the Great Hall for dinner. Scarlett looked up at the staff table as the others began filling their plates and noticed that both Balathar and Zutharis were seated there, but sat at opposite ends of the table from each other. She caught Balathar's eyes, but he shook his head and returned to his plate.

It was already late when Scarlett, Lilly, and Hope said goodnight to Jake at the top of the spiral staircase. The three girls all changed and climbed into bed without talking much and within minutes, Scarlett as least, was fast asleep. Her dreams were very troubled throughout the night. She tossed and turned, disjointed images of the Orbstone and dark robed thieves filling her mind.

It was around four in the morning when she jerked awake, panting for breath, her heart racing. It wasn't her dreams, she knew, that had awoken her. Her blankets had been completely tossed from her bed and onto the floor and she couldn't shake the feeling that someone had been standing over her mere seconds before she had opened her eyes.


	10. Betrayal

-.-

**Chapter Ten: Betrayal**

-.-

"Someone was standing over me, I know it," Scarlett said quietly. It was a few minutes after five in the morning and she was once again sitting in a chair in Balathar's private quarters. She held a cup of hot tea in her hands and she was trembling from head to toe. "Someone was there; the same someone that's been following me around the school for weeks!" Balathar paced back and forth in front of her with a dark expression on his face, an action that didn't soothe her in the least.

"You look worried," she said after a moment. "Do you… do you know who's doing this?" Balathar stopped and turned to look at her. He shook his head.

"I really don't," he said firmly and Scarlett believed him. "It is _impossible _for anyone to have breached the walls of Hogwarts without the staff knowing. It doesn't matter whether they are invisible or even incorporeal. Hogwarts is impenetrable, protected by magic so advanced that even the most powerful of wizards would have tremendous difficulty overcoming it." Scarlett's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"But if that's true, why would Professor Phoebus go to so much trouble adding additional security to protect the Orbstone?" she asked. "If Hogwarts can't be broken into, the stone would hardly need additional protection, would it?" Balathar genuinely seemed thrown by that statement and it took him a moment to recover.

"Okay…" he said as last, sitting down on the edge of his bed. "Okay, it's obvious you are not a child and won't be reassured by my coddling. It's true that wizards with sufficient knowledge could _potentially _breach Hogwarts' defenses… but there is no reason any wizard with that much power would want to stealthily stalk a first year, even one as gifted as you are."

"So, what's going on then?" Scarlett asked. Balathar shook his head dejectedly.

"I truly don't know, Scarlett," he said quietly. "I'm sorry, I just don't. There's no evidence of anyone breaching Hogwarts' security and the front doors say that no unauthorized persons have entered the castle." Scarlett decided to overlook the fact that Balathar appeared to have had a conversation with the school's front doors.

"Then could it be someone on the inside?" she asked. "Maybe it's Zutharis! Maybe he saw me that night I caught him in the Orbstone chamber! Maybe he's trying to torment me or something because I saw him!" Balathar shook his head.

"I… don't think so," he said lightly. "Zutharis may well be after the Orbstone, but I don't believe he would be behind this." Scarlett nodded and dropped her gaze to the floor, looking quite forlorn.

"We'll figure this out," Balathar said bracingly. "I love you, Scarlett. I would _never _let anything happen to you. Whatever's happening we'll deal with it, I promise." Scarlett nodded.

"I'm just... scared..." she whispered.

"I know," Balathar replied softly. He sighed. "Why don't you sleep here tonight? I've got a spare room in the back that never gets used. Anyone who's after you would have to get by me first. You'll be safe until tomorrow. I haven't told you yet, but I discussed things with Phoebus earlier today. We've agreed to confront Zutharis together tomorrow night and she wants you there."

"M... me?" Scarlett asked confusedly. "You... told her about me?" Balathar shook his head.

"Believe it or not, she already knew," Balathar replied. "She knows a good deal more about what goes on at Hogwarts than even I realized. Don't worry, you aren't in any trouble. She only wants you there because you are the only person who has actually seen Zutharis interacting with the Orbstone."

"Okay, then," said Scarlett. She glanced at the door and then back at Balathar. "I guess if... if you're not using that room, I... I'd really like to stay."

"And you're more than welcome to," said Balathar. "Come on, I'll conjure you a bed for the night."

Scarlett slept quite peacefully that night, perhaps because she knew that anyone who wanted to get to her would have to sneak passed Balathar first. She wasn't sure why that made her feel so safe. She didn't have any idea how powerful of a wizard Balathar was; although she suspected he would be quiet a force to be reckoned with.

An hour before breakfast was to begin, Balathar gently shook Scarlett awake. She rolled over and looked up at him, forgetting for a moment where she had spent the night and wondering briefly why Balathar was in the girls' dormitory.

"'Morning," said Balathar with a smile. "Sleep well?"

"I did, actually," she said sleepily, sitting up in bed and stretching. "Thanks for letting me stay here."

"Of course," said Balathar kindly. He hesitated for a moment, watching as Scarlett ran her slender fingers through her loose curls. "Your mother used to do that all the time," he pointed out. "She was constantly running her fingers through her hair. It used to drive Michael crazy."

"Was her hair this long?" Scarlett inquired curiously. Balathar nodded. "My mum's always telling me to get a haircut, but I like it. Something I got from Alexandra, I guess."

"You got a lot from Alexandra," said Balathar knowingly. "Did you know your eyes flutter when you're asleep? Your mum's did the same thing… and she used to tug a corner of the sheet up under her chin, just like you were doing when I woke you up."

"Were you watching me sleep?" Scarlett asked.

"No," said Balathar. "I just… when I came in to wake you up, I couldn't help but… well, you always look like your mother, but there are moments… split seconds of time when I… forget that you're her daughter… and not her." Scarlett looked into his eyes and suddenly she realized something she hadn't before that moment.

"You really loved her, didn't you?" she asked in a very quiet voice. "It wasn't just an affair, you actually loved her." Balathar shrugged and nodded.

"I did," he said just as quietly. "I loved your mother very much. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, but I… Like I said, there are those second-long moments when I first see you that I think Alex has walked back through the door."

"I'm really sorry," Scarlett whispered. "I mean, I may be her daughter, but… but you actually _knew _her… loved her. It seems like you lost a lot more than I did."

"Oh, I'm not so sure of that," said Balathar. "Your mother was an amazing woman, Scarlett. Whoever you are today, without her influence, you would have been that much better _with _her in your life."

Knowing that her friends would undoubtedly be wondering where she had gone, Scarlett bade Balathar goodbye, promising to meet him in his office at seven o'clock that evening. She met up with her friends in the Great Hall for breakfast and explained what had happened, where she'd been, and she also told them what Balathar had said about Phoebus and their meeting that night.

"So Phoebus believes Zutharis is guilty now?" Jake asked, looking quite surprised.

"I guess she does," said Scarlett with a shrug. "She's willing to confront him about it at least."

"Well, how much more evidence could she need?" Hope wondered aloud.

"She's already got a picture of the thieving git," said Lilly shrewdly. "Zutharis can hardly argue it's him. I'd bet he'll go as quiet as anything." Scarlett wasn't sure why, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong.

-.-

"Hey, I'm off to meet with Phoebus and Balathar," said Scarlett, sticking her head into the girl's dormitory where Lilly lay on her bed surrounded by crumpled bits of parchment and large books later that evening.

"I'll wait up if you're gone a while," Lilly replied, looking up from her scribblings. "I want to hear what happens."

"Okay, I'll see you later then," said Scarlett. She started to leave, but paused. "Lilly, are you still working on that translation?"

"I am," said Lilly firmly. "You're about to wrap all of this up tonight, but I'd still like to know what the Orbstone is and it's not in any book I've checked in the library."

"Any progress with it?" Scarlett wanted to know. Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Not a bit," she said dejectedly. "I've tried everything I can think of and it's just… just incomprehensible gibberish!"

"Once we get all this with Zutharis and the Orbstone settled tonight, I guess I could help work on it," Scarlett offered. "Two heads are better than one, right?"

"I'd appreciate it," said Lilly happily. "And uh… Carly? Good luck tonight,"

"Thanks," said Scarlett, pulling the dormitory door closed behind her.

Scarlett left Gryffindor Tower and made her way to Balathar's office, where he and Professor Phoebus were to be waiting for her. When she arrived, however, it was only Balathar who was there.

"Hi," said Scarlett as she entered the Charms teacher's office. "Is Professor Phoebus not here yet?" Balathar, who had been tugging on his boots when Scarlett had arrived, looked up at her.

"Actually, there's been a change of plans," he told her. "It appears that Zutharis may well be making another play to get the Orbstone tonight. Professor Phoebus and I are going to attempt to catch him in the act. I want you to go back to your dormitory for now. I will come and tell you what happens after we're finished."

"If you're going to confront him, let me come with you," Scarlett said quickly. "After everything that's happened, I… I want to be there." Balathar considered her for a very long moment before shrugging.

"Fine," he said at last, but he didn't look happy about it. "But you are to obey my every command. If I tell you to run, or hide… whatever it may be. I doubt very much that Zutharis would attempt to attack either Phoebus or myself, but anything is possible."

"Okay," said Scarlett. "Whatever you want me to do," Balathar sighed deeply, looking quite upset. Scarlett knew it was because she was going with him into a situation that was potentially very dangerous. She thought she knew the risks and truly believed that she should be there. After almost an entire school year of dealing with and worrying about the Orbstone, she felt she should be there when everything was finished. Balathar, she supposed, didn't have the heart to deny her. He stood slowly to his feet, tucking his wand into her robes.

"Well, come on then." He said with a growl. "Let's go,"

-.-

Nearly an hour after Scarlett had dropped in; Lilly was still laying on her bed, lost, quite literally, in translation. The longer she worked on translating the engraving on the Orbstone's pedestal, the more she started to think that the inscription wasn't a language at all, or at least not a very well-known one, anyway.

"Evolla noitidno cnu, laerev ahohw…" Lilly muttered darkly, reading the first few words of the inscription aloud. "Evolla… what the hell does that mean? Evolla… Evolla…" She rolled her eyes and stared mindlessly into a polished full-body mirror that stood next to Hope's bed on the opposite side of the room, but not really seeing her reflection at all. She did this for nearly ten minutes until she remembered, and it hit her.

"_The answer lies in the mirror,_" she whispered to herself. She hurriedly leapt to her feet and seized the piece of parchment on which she had scrawled the inscription and rushed over to the mirror. She held it up in front of it and after only a moment of examining the words, she gasped.

"It's backwards…" she whispered. "It's all backwards. Not just the words, the entire paragraph is written backwards."

She knelt down on the floor and began to quickly write everything out in reverse. She quickly realized that not only was the entire paragraph written backwards, but the words were slightly mixed up, with letters from some words blended into the words next to them. It only took her about five minutes to unscramble it all and write everything down. When she was done, she held her work up in front of her and read it aloud.

"Within my core the power lives, but only few can use it. The Orbstone will reveal itself to none but those who understand the true power of love. To those who have real, unconditional love." She looked down at the paragraph, unable to believe she had deciphered it. And then it clicked.

"That's how to get passed Phoebus's protection," she said to herself. "This is it! It has to be!" She tossed all over her bits of parchment and her books into her trunk and raced out of the dormitory and through the portrait hole, on her way to find Jake and Hope, who she knew were studying in the library.

-.-

Half an hour before Lilly's miraculous discovery, Scarlett and Balathar arrived on the seventh floor and entered the restricted corridor that led to the hidden Orbstone. Scarlett looked around the dark room as Balathar closed the door behind her.

"Where's Professor Phoebus?" Scarlett asked as Balathar lit his wand tip, illuminating the darkened corridor. "I thought she was waiting for us."

"She's likely gone on ahead," said Balathar, peering down the long corridor. "If it appeared that Zutharis had already come through when she arrived, she would undoubtedly have gone on without us. Our headmistress is more than a match for Zutharis should he put up a fight."

And so they set off together down the long, dark corridor. As they walked, Scarlett noticed that the protective wards were already down. Phoebus or Balathar must have lowered them, she suspected.

"So... are we trying to catch Zutharis actually stealing the Orbstone?" Scarlett asked as they walked. "Or are we just confronting him with the proof?"

"Professor Phoebus is hoping to catch him in the act," said Balathar. "However, all we really need to do is catch him down here. Red-handed or not, he's not supposed to be down here alone and we've got your evidence as well."

"I'll just be glad when all of this is over," said Scarlett nervously. Balathar nodded grimly.

"Yes," he said darkly. "So will I."

-.-

Lilly ran all the way down to the third floor and was just about to reach for the library door when the door opened, nearly hitting her in the face. She stumbled backward and fell hard onto the stone floor. Professor Phoebus stood on the threshold, looking horrified.

"My dear, I'm so sorry," she said, extending her hand to help Lilly up. "I didn't see you there! I just checked out the only copy of _Spectacular Magical Desserts _in the library and was on my way to my office to read it. It's a hard book to get, you see. It's typically on a three-month waiting list."

"That's... nice, Professor," said Lilly, massaging her elbow. But then a thought struck her. "Are... are you already finished meeting with Scarlett, then?" she asked curiously, surprised that everything had been resolved so quickly. Phoebus, however, looked confused.

"I was not expecting to meet with Scarlett today," Phoebus replied. "Perhaps I should, though. She is a lovely girl."

"Yeah," said Lilly slowly. "Yeah, she's great. It's just... Scarlett told me that she and Balathar were going to meet you in his office tonight." Phoebus's eyes narrowed and she shook her head.

"About Zutharis," Lilly added, not understanding how the headmistress could not have any idea about any of this. "About how Scarlett took a picture of Zutharis in the..." she paused, not knowing whether or not she should mention the Orbstone. She threw caution to the winds, however, and plunged in. "She caught Zutharis in the chamber where you're hiding the Orbstone. Balathar said he'd been telling you for months Zutharis has been trying to steal it... and I can tell by your expression this is all news to you."

"I cannot begin to guess how it is that you know about the Orbstone," said Phoebus, eying Lilly very seriously. "But I can assure you that Professor Balathar has never once mentioned that Professor Zutharis is attempting to steal the Orbstone, nor has he said that Ms. Moreau knew about the stone and has seen Zutharis anywhere near it." Lilly didn't understand this at all. Unless Phoebus was lying, and she couldn't work up a reason why she would be, then Balathar had been lying to Scarlett all along… which meant, well Lilly didn't know what it meant, but apparently Phoebus did, because her eyes suddenly went wide.

"Of course," she said in a voice that indicated she had just arrived at an amazing conclusion. "Of course, it makes perfect sense. Ms. Harcourt, where were Scarlett and Balathar supposed to be meeting me?"

"In his office," said Lilly quickly. "Professor, please, what's going on?"

"I must go," said Phoebus abruptly. "Please return to your dormitory." And she walked away, leaving Lilly both quite alone and quite confused.

-.-

"We're nearly there," said Balathar quietly as the corridor's floor dropped away into the ten-step staircase that led straight into the Orbstone's chamber.

"Good," Scarlett replied, taking the first couple of steps down. It was clear, however, without even going any further that she and Balathar were the only ones there. "She's not here," said Scarlett, peering into the very corners of the room in search of the headmistress.

"I know," said Balathar. He sounded very sad. "Scarlett, I'm very sorry about this," Scarlett's eyes narrowed with confusion and she started to turn back to him.

"Sorry about wha…?" But before she could fully turn to face him, she was struck so hard in the side of her head that she fell backward and slid down the stairs into the Orbstone chamber. She hit the stone floor hard, her head smacking the cold stone with enough force that she blacked out for a few seconds. She came to with a groan. Holding her head with her left hand, she tried to sit up, but she was instantly overcome with waves of tremendous dizziness and she slumped to the floor again.

A pair of feet entered her field of vision and she looked up to see Balathar standing over her. He appeared to begin to bend down toward her, but then he backed away as another pair of feet approached and stopped right in front of her. She tilted her head, slowly taking in the stranger's buckled boots and dark purple robes. Finally, her eyes fell on the man's face. He looked to be quite old, judging by his long gray hair and matching beard. He wore thin glasses behind which a pair of bright blue eyes glared down at her.

"Thank you very much, Mercius," the old wizard said pleasantly. "Your work will be rewarded." He knelt down next to Scarlett and rolled her rather roughly onto her back. "And now," he said directly to Scarlett. "I'm going to need your help."


	11. The Orbstone

-.-

**Chapter Eleven: The Orbstone**

-.-

The old wizard stood back upright, gazing down at Scarlett with an expression of polite interest and pure loathing. His bright blue eyes made her feel as though she were being x-rayed... and it made her blood run cold.

"Who... who are you?" she asked weakly, trying to get her eyes to focus on the old wizard's face. "Where's Zutharis?" The old wizard smirked.

"Dear Zutharis is likely asleep in his quarters," said the wizard with a small smile. "He was never going to be here tonight. He was never here to being with."

"He was..." said Scarlett. "I saw him, I... I remember..."

"You saw my associate here," said the wizard, indicating Balathar. "You see, there is a potion, a very advanced potion, that allows a wizard to take on the appearance of someone else for one single hour. Whenever you thought you were seeing Zutharis, in reality you were seeing Mercius in disguise."

"You tricked me?" Scarlett asked in a voice filled with hurt and betrayal.

"I'm so sorry, Scarlett," said Balathar, and he truly sounded it. "I had no choice."

"None of that is really important at the moment," said the old wizard firmly. "What is important now is that I need your help."

"W... what do you need my help with?" Scarlett asked slowly.

"I need you to get something for me," the wizard said delicately. He glanced at the Orbstone, which Scarlett noticed was floating serenely above it's pedestal.

"Why don't you just walk over and get it yourself?" Scarlett asked, sounding far braver than she felt.

"Well, the stone is protected, as you well know," said the wizard. "But you have the ability to retrieve it for me."

"And why do you want it?" Scarlett asked. The old wizard sighed.

"That isn't important, girl," he said firmly. "You could not begin to comprehend my work... but I must have that stone."

"Then go get it," said Scarlett defiantly. "Because you're not getting it from me." The wizard rolled his eyes and gestured toward Balathar, who stepped forward slowly.

"Scarlett, please, just..."

"Oh, don't even start..." said Scarlett, giving him a look of complete and utter loathing. "Everything you said to me, every word you said to me all year was a lie!"

"Not everything," said Balathar, shaking his head. "No... everything about Zutharis, Phoebus, the Orbstone... yes, you're right, I lied. But everything else, all our other conversations..."

"Well, not _all _of them Mercius," said the old wizard with a smirk. "I do believe that Mercius told you that he had no idea who or what the mysterious presence that seems to be following you is. Well, the truth is that the person who has been following you, stalking you, is none other than Mercius himself." Scarlett stared at Balathar in disbelief. It didn't make sense, no sense at all.

"Why…?" Scarlett began, but the old wizard cut her off.

"Because he's a twisted old bastard," he said laughingly. "Aren't you, Mercius? Yes, you see Mercius here most definitely had an interest in your mother, but it was by no means the loving relationship he has told you about. Mercius wasn't in love with Alexandra. He was completely obsessed with her, both in her years here at Hogwarts and beyond. He was wrapped up in her and refused to let go. Her death absolutely destroyed him, but since you've come to Hogwarts, Scarlett, he has begun to come alive again. He has Alexandra back again… or a least an excellent copy of her."

"That's not… I never…" Balathar muttered. The wizard laughed.

"There's no need to deny it, Mercius," he said loudly. "I'm not going to think any less of you than I already do and I'm certain Scarlett would be interested in your sick obsession with her. Nevertheless, we'll deal with this part later. I've already agreed that you may take Ms. Moreau away from here when we are done and do anything and everything you'd like with her. I would add, though, that I do not wish to know what it is that you intend to do with her. I really don't need to know what's floating around in your perverted mind.

"What is important right now is my getting that stone," the old wizard stared down at Scarlett. "So, please, Ms. Moreau. Stand up and give me that stone." Weak and shaking, Scarlett managed to stand and glared at the old wizard.

"Go to hell," she said firmly. The old wizard struck her hard in the side of her head with the back of his hand and she fell down again. The wizard sighed heavily and knelt down beside her.

"I can hurt you," he whispered into Scarlett's ear. "I can cause you pain. I can cause you unspeakable, unimaginable pain that no eleven-year-old should ever experience. I do not wish to. I would take no pleasure in doing so, but I swear to you that if you disobey me and do not collect the Orbstone for me, I will most certainly do so."

"Then do it," Scarlett hissed. "I don't know who you are or what the Orbstone does, but it's powerful enough that Phoebus has gone to all of this to protect it and that's reason enough for me not to give it to you. So, torture me all you'd like. You're not getting anything from me." The old wizard nodded grimly and stood back up. He drew his wand.

"You told me you wouldn't hurt her!" Balathar exclaimed. "You promised you wouldn't hurt her!"

"I will not cause her any permanent damage," said the wizard. "Not like you're going to do once she's in your _loving _embrace. She will recover from this, Mercius. As I said, I do not wish to do this… but I must have that stone." The old wizard turned toward Scarlett, raising his wand. Scarlett had a sudden burst of remembrance. A dream from months before, a dream of this wizard... and of a terrible spell. She knew before he even said the word what was coming, but even experiencing it in a dream could not prepare her for the real thing.

"_Crucio!_" the wizard roared. It was pain beyond pain. Agony beyond explanation, beyond rationalization. It was pain that no one should survive, but Scarlett knew she wasn't dying no matter how much she wished to in that moment. She was screaming and convulsing but in a way she was detached from it all, floating above herself, watching the terrible scene. After what felt like hours although it could have only been five minutes, the old wizard lowered his wand and as fast as the pain had come, it was gone.

Scarlett didn't move, she couldn't move. She was sobbing, pleading incoherently. Balathar made to approach her, but the wizard held out his arm.

"No," he said softly. "She isn't ready yet. _Crucio!_" And once again she was consumed in fiery, white-hot agony. She writhed, screaming at the top of her lungs but no one came to help her. At last, the pain went away again and she slumped backwards, her chest heaving, her cheeks stained with tears, her eyes bloodshot.

"O… okay, I'll get it for you," she whispered, breaking down completely. "I'll get it for you, just please… _please _stop!"

"Then do so," said the old wizard. Scarlett tried to stand, but found that she could not. The pain was simply too great. Balathar went over and helped her stand, holding her upright. She recoiled when he touched her, but she didn't have the strength to pull away. Shaking almost uncontrollably, she reached out her hand and to her very great surprise her fingers slid over the Orbstone's surprisingly slick surface. She closed her fingers around it and held up it.

"Here," she said shakily. "Here's your stone." But as she held it out to him, it began to glow with immensely bright light. Scarlett gasped as the stone suddenly broke into a million tiny pieces, which almost immediately disappeared in her hand.

"What have you done?" the old wizard demanded, but Scarlett shook her head.

"Nothing!" She exclaimed. "I didn't do anything! I just picked it up!"

"You lie!" the wizard screamed. "You little _bitch_! _Crucio!_"

"Stop!" Balathar roared as Scarlett slipped out of his grasp and fell to the stone floor. "Stop! She didn't do anything! She was giving it to you! She…" But with little more than a glance, the wizard blasted Balathar off of his feet.

"You dare defy me?" he demanded of Balathar. "You would question me? I've given you what you've always wanted and you would question _me_? I have little use for one such as you. I'm afraid I will be forced to dispose of you." He jerked his wand away from Scarlett and pointed it at Balathar. "Goodbye, Mercius," he said quietly.

"No!" Scarlett screamed from the floor. A wave of magical energy erupted from her when she shouted. The shockwave blasted the wizard off of his feet and completely destroyed the crystal pedestal. The wizard hit the ground hard at the base of the staircase. Balathar was on his feet, running toward the wizard with his wand raised. Scarlett suddenly felt herself begin to pass out. The room went slightly dark and fuzzy around the edges. She retained consciousness long enough to see the wizard start to stand up again, only to be thrown back down again by a very powerful someone whose feet she could see coming down the stairs.

Balathar paused as the wizard was tossed across the chamber. He looked up for a second at the figure on the staircase and then turned quickly to Scarlett. She looked up at his face and time seemed to slow down. Although they could have only looked at each other for a split second, Scarlett saw he was staring at her with a look of... pity? Pain? Sadness? Regret? She couldn't know for sure.

The figure on the stairs began to come down into the chamber and Balathar began to shimmer like a puddle of water hit by a stone and he was gone. There was a loud crack from the area where Scarlett knew the old wizard had landed and just knew he had escaped as well. She saw the figure, her savior; begin to walk closer to her. She took in the person's high-heeled boots and tried to lift her head enough to see their face, but before she could her world went black.

-.-

Everything around her was very dark. Scarlett wasn't afraid of the dark, but she didn't like this at all. Try as she might, she couldn't find a way to turn on the lights. Occasionally she heard voices in the darkness, but she couldn't speak to them along she was trying to scream to them to help her. After what must have been months of swimming in this strange, scary blackness, Scarlett's eyes snapped open.

It took her a few minutes to realize that she lay in a bed in the hospital wing. After a few more minutes she tried to sit up, but a bolt of white-hot pain coursed through her and she let out a soft cry. Someone must have been nearby and heard her because there was a sudden sound of footsteps and Professor Phoebus appeared, stepping in through the curtains that surrounded Scarlett's bed. She smiled warmly when she saw Scarlett was awake.

"Welcome back," Phoebus said warmly, sitting down gently in a chair at Scarlett's bedside.

"Professor…? What… what happened?" Scarlett asked. Phoebus looked suddenly quite sad.

"You almost died, that's what happened," said Phoebus. "Don't worry; you're going to be perfectly fine. Prolonged exposure to the Cruciatus Curse can cause extended aftereffects so you will undoubtedly be in a bit of pain for the next few weeks, but you'll be just fine. When I found you, you were…"

"So it was you?" Scarlett asked. "You were the one who saved me?" Phoebus nodded humbly.

"Indeed, I was," she said. "Although, considering it is my fault that you needed saving in the first place, it is only right that I be the one to save you."

"How is it your fault?" Phoebus smiled sadly.

"It is my fault because I allowed Mercius Balathar into this school," she said darkly. "I trusted him and I encouraged him to help you learn to control your power. I pushed him to get close to you. I knew about his relationship with your mother, but I believed he would be able to maintain a professional distance. I thought he was trustworthy. I was terribly wrong and I am very sorry. I didn't do enough to protect you and you were nearly killed. I allowed a very powerful man to breach the walls of this castle and…"

"The old wizard?" Scarlett interrupted. "The man who wanted the Orbstone? Who was he?" Phoebus didn't answer immediately. In fact, she looked as though she were fighting an internal battle over whether to answer at all.

"In truth, Scarlett, I do not know," she said at last. "He was very powerful and obviously very dangerous. He risked a great deal entering this castle."

"So… the Orbstone," said Scarlett delicately, hoping that her answer to this question would be less vague than her last answer. "What is it? Why did that wizard want it so badly?"

"Well, the Orbstone is a very powerful magical object," said Phoebus. "It contains the very last piece of a magical form of transportation that all but disappeared more than two hundred years ago."

"Magical transportation?" Scarlett repeated. "What? Like Floo Powder or Apparation?"

"Similar to Apparation, more than the Floo Network," said Phoebus. "As I recall, it was noticeably slower than Apparation."

"So if the Orbstone allows you to travel like Apparation only slower, why would anyone need it? Why would anyone break into a place like Hogwarts to steal it?" Scarlett wanted to know. Phoebus smiled slightly.

"Out of a simple curiosity, have you ever read _Hogwarts: A History_?" Scarlett shook her head and Phoebus's smile widened.

"And here I was thinking you would have," she said idly. "Well, if you were to read it you would learn that it is impossible to Apparate onto or Disapparate off of the Hogwarts grounds. There are many places, however, that cannot be reached by any other means than Apparation. It would make sense; therefore, than there are also places that can only be accessed by using the Orbstone would it not?"

"So… that wizard wanted the Orbstone to go somewhere he couldn't get to without it?" Scarlett asked.

"I would imagine so, yes," said Phoebus. "But unfortunately for him, he won't be getting there any time soon. As I'm sure you saw, the Orbstone is gone."

"Yeah," said Scarlett. "It… It shattered. It broke into a bunch of little pieces and then the pieces just vanished as I was holding them. What happened to the stone?"

"Don't worry about the stone, my dear," said Phoebus firmly. "Don't worry about it at all. The stone is gone now. As for its power, well… I'm fairly certain it will reveal itself again whenever it is needed." Scarlett had not, up until this moment, ever spoken to Phoebus and she had to admit she found it rather annoying. She couldn't get anything close to a straight answer out of the woman. Both of them fell silent for a moment, Phoebus seemed quite interested in a loose thread in Scarlett's blanket.

"I trusted him," Scarlett said suddenly, trying and failing to hide the moisture that began to cloud her vision. "Balathar, I mean. He said… he told me all of these stories about my mother. He said he loved her. He made it sound like they… like they were… But it was all a lie."

"Oh, Scarlett," said Phoebus in an almost motherly voice. "Scarlett, I am truly sorry about Mercius. He lied to you, betrayed you… But I don't want you to go off with the wrong impression about him."

"The wrong impression?" Scarlett repeated in confused tones. "He lied to me and tricked me. He stood by and let me be tortured. That wizard said they had an agreement so that once I retrieved the stone for him, he would let Balathar take me away to… to do… well, I don't know exactly what he had planned, but the wizard said Balathar was obsessed with my mother and wanted to use me as some sort of… copy." Phoebus nodded grimly.

"Mercius is a very sick man," said Phoebus. "Very sick, and he needs help. He isn't an evil man, Scarlett. He has… lost everything that ever meant anything to him. In his own way I truly believe he loves you. And if I may say so, whatever it is you think about it, you didn't wish for him to be killed. You lashed out with your mind when you saw that he was going to be killed. You tapped into a resource of power you did not know you had in that moment. You reached inside yourself and used that power to save Balathar. Doing so exhausted you, nearly killed you, but you did it nonetheless."

"I don't think that means that I… care about him," said Scarlett rather angrily. "I just… It doesn't matter! He's gone! He's out of my life for good!" Phoebus slowly stood to her feet and walked to the foot of Scarlett's bed.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, if I were you," she said lightly. "It's a big universe, dear girl, but I feel quite certain that you'll see Mercius Balathar again some day." She turned to leave.

"Wait, Professor," Scarlett called. "One… one more question, please. Well, two actually," Phoebus stopped and smiled.

"Of course, go ahead,"

"Well… how is it that I was able to get the Orbstone when Balathar and the old wizard couldn't?" she asked curiously. Phoebus smiled widely.

"Oh, I'd love to tell you," she said. "Seeing at it was all my idea. However, I do believe your friend Ms. Harcourt would like to explain that to you. She did all the hard work figuring it out, after all. I'm sure she'll be dropping by soon and you'll be able to ask her. Now, to your final question please. If I stay much longer Madam Morrison will be after my head. She can be quite strict for a nurse, you know."

"Yes, well… I was wondering how it was that you knew I was down there," said Scarlett. "I mean, how did you know I needed help… that something was going on?"

"Let's just say that if when Lilly was falling from that beam and you caught her, saving her life, she then owed you a life debt… that debt has been paid." She smiled again. "Good day, dear." She said and she swept from the ward, leaving Scarlett alone with her very confused thoughts.

She didn't have long to dwell, however, because less than five minutes after Professor Phoebus had left the sound of people running up the ward reached Scarlett's ears and seconds later Lilly, Jake, and Hope burst through her curtains. Their worried faces instantly broke into smiles when they saw Scarlett was awake.

"Carly!" Lilly shouted happily, rushing to her bedside.

"Hey, Lil," Scarlett replied, matching the blonde's wide smile. "It's good to see you guys again."

"Are you feeling okay?" Jake asked, still looking quite concerned.

"It just hurts when I'm awake," said Scarlett dryly. "Professor Phoebus said I'll be okay, though."

"So… what happened?" Hope asked delicately. "Professor Phoebus wouldn't tell us much…" And so Scarlett launched into the story. By the time she was finished telling them everything, including what Professor Phoebus had told her, all three of them were staring at her with their mouths opened slightly.

"So Phoebus doesn't know anything about the wizard who did all this?" Hope asked in surprise.

"She seemed like she knew more than she was telling me," said Scarlett thoughtfully. "I can't put my finger on it, but something was off about the way she talked about him."

"I wonder where he was trying to go," said Jake. "I mean if the Orbstone is a form of transportation… where does he want to go so badly that he'd break into the most heavily defended building on Earth?"

"It'd better be really nice," said Lilly angrily. "And I mean Heaven nice after causing all of this." She squeezed Scarlett's hand comfortingly. Madam Morrison bustled in before they could discuss anything else and told them that Scarlett needed to rest and that they could come back in the morning. Before her friends left, however, Scarlett remembered what Phoebus had said and called Lilly back.

"Phoebus told me that the reason she knew I needed her help was because of you," she told the blonde. "How did you…?" Lilly's eyes widened and she smiled.

"Oh, right!" she exclaimed. "You don't know! I figured it out!"

"Figured what out?" Scarlett asked.

"The inscription on that crystal pedestal! I figured out what it says! It wasn't a language, the entire paragraph was written backwards and the words were jumbled up. That's what that message meant! The answer lies in the mirror! It said that the only way anyone could get the Orbstone was to have experienced true, unconditional love like…"

"Like being willing to fall off of a ledge and die with your best friend instead of letting them fall?" Scarlett asked.

"Well, I think so," said Lilly. "What else could it have meant? Anyway, I was running to find these two," she pointed at Hope and Jake. "And I bumped into Professor Phoebus coming out of the library. I asked if she had already met with you and Balathar and she said she wasn't expecting to meet with either of you at all and didn't know how it was that I knew about the Orbstone. Then she said 'Of course!' like she'd just realized something and rushed off… I guess to find you."

"Well, then I guess we're even," said Scarlett. "I saved you from falling to your death and you saved me from being murdered or who knows what. Thanks, Lil. Really… thank you."

"Don't worry your cute butt over it," said Lilly, kissing the brunette on the forehead. "See you in the morning, sweetie,"

"'Night," said Jake, patting Scarlett's arm.

"I hope you feel better," said Hope with a warm smile.

"Thanks," Scarlett replied. And then they were gone. Scarlett leaned back against her pillows and stared up at the dark ceiling. It wasn't long before she fell asleep.


	12. The Shape of Things to Come

**Ah, here we are again. Another final chapter. Closing out this story and moving on to the second in the series is a great moment for me, knowing as I do what is coming later. I'm a little anxious to get to a point coming up one day but a lot has to happen before that day comes. Nevertheless, Step One complete. Hopefully by next week I'll commence step two. Thanks for reading! Blessed be. **

-.-

**Chapter Twelve: The Shape of Things to Come **

-.-

It was a full week before Madam Morrison allowed Scarlett to leave the hospital wing. Despite intensive medical care, Scarlett was still in a good deal of pain. For the first several days she was unable to walk or even stand up on her own. It appeared that her entire body had been sapped of energy and filled with pain.

Lilly, Jake, and Hope left her bedside only at night and helped her try to walk each day. On the fifth day she and Lilly managed to make it all the way to the door before the pain became too great and Scarlett had been forced to stop. After a full week in the hospital wing, Scarlett was going out of her mind and pleaded with Madam Morrison to at least let her attend the End-of-the-Year feast that night.

"Please!" Scarlett begged as Lilly helped her swing her legs back into bed. "I've been in here for a week. I'm going stir crazy being locked up in here. Besides, I'm going home tomorrow. You've got let me get on the train. I want to at least spend the last night in my dormitory."

"Fine," Madam Morrison grumbled, glaring at Scarlett from behind a pair of very thick glasses. "But on your own head be it! If you die, I'll not be held responsible!"

"She's not going to die," said Lilly. "Besides, I'll be with her. I can help her with anything she needs."

"I already said you could go," said Madam Morrison. "Just try not to get yourself killed!" And she bustled off. Scarlett slumped back against her pillows and looked up at Lilly, who had just sat down on a rolling stool beside her bed.

"She's in a particularly fine mood," the blonde muttered as the school nurse's office door snapped closed.

"Try spending a week with her," said Scarlett humorlessly, gently palming the locket her mother had given her before coming to Hogwarts ten months earlier. Lilly didn't say anything in reply and both girls lapsed into silence for a long time.

"I… uh… I know we never talked about it…" Lilly said rather uncertainly quite some time later. "But I'm here, you know...? If you ever… you know, want to talk, or…" Scarlett didn't have to ask what Lilly meant. She knew she was talking about Balathar and his betrayal. The truth was that she both wanted to talk about it and at the same time she didn't even want to think about the man. She was hurting… far, _far _more than she was willing to let on. Balathar's betrayal had cut her very deeply. She had trusted Balathar and he had delivered her straight into the hands of a monster.

She had followed him blindly, trusted him blindly and it could have resulted in her death. Nevertheless, it wouldn't happen again. She would never trust anyone so easily again. She would never let herself fall into that trap, to fall victim again. But despite her hatred of the man, Balathar _had _taught her one important thing; whatever she was, whatever power she held inside of herself, it was not to be feared.

She had been given a very great gift. Her power was to be nurtured, strengthened. She wasn't afraid of it any more. She wasn't scared of being different, of being _special_. She had great power and she was determined, now more than ever, to learn to use it, to control it… and Heaven help Mercius Balathar when she did.

"No, Lilly," said Scarlett firmly. "I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk about it at all."

-.-

With help from Lilly, Scarlett managed to make her way down through the castle and into the Great Hall later that evening. The Great Hall was its usual splendid self, decorated that night in the red and gold of Gryffindor for their narrow victory over the second-place Ravenclaw in the Hogwarts Inter-House Championship. The girls made their way across the hall and sat down in seats that Jake and Hope had been saving for them.

"Hey!" Hope said brightly as they sat down. "It looks like you're getting around better, Scarlett."

"I am," said Scarlett, smiling at the redhead. "Thanks to Madam Morrison's potions and you three forcing me to walk the length of the hospital wing ten times a day."

"Always happy to help," said Jake with a rather mischievous grin.

"I notice you weren't helping me walk day after day," Scarlett said playfully to Lilly's brother Peter, who sat a few seats down from them.

"No, but I came to visit you," Peter replied.

"Yeah, you sent her that really sweet Get-Well-Soon card," Lilly reminded him. "You know, the pink one with the heart inside that said..."

"She remembers what it said!" Peter said shrilly.

"I'm kind of interested in what it said," Jace said interestedly from Peter's other side. "Full of sweet nothings and love notes, no doubt."

"It was very thoughtful and sweet. I loved it." said Scarlett kindly, causing Peter to blush and Jake to choke rather violently on a piece of bread. Hope thumped him helpfully on his back. "I notice you didn't send me a card," she added to Jace. "And Sam, you didn't even visit me." Sam shrugged.

"Hey, I had O.W.L.s to worry about while you were in the hospital," Sam countered. "I had to study!"

"Next time make sure you ask around before you get hurt, Carly," said Lilly. "That way everyone will be able to clear their schedules."

Later that evening, after the golden plates had magically cleared themselves, refilled with desserts, and cleared themselves again, Professor Phoebus stood to her feet and beamed around at all of them.

"Another year, gone!" she said brightly. "We stand tonight on the brink of another summer, in which I'm sure all of you will have plenty of time to get your heads nice and empty before we all meet back here again in September. I know this year has been particularly difficult for some of our students, our seventh and fifth years in particular, but also our first years.

"Although it has been many years, I too know how hard it can be to first come to Hogwarts. It is a difficult transition and the challenges our youngest students face are never easy. However, I hope that Hogwarts will become a second home to you and that you will return next year, fresh-faced and ready for another year of learning. Thank you all for your attention and for making this year one of our best. Have a wonderful summer! Now, I know you all have an early morning tomorrow, so off to bed with you!"

As the students all stood to their feet and began to wend their way into the entrance hall, Doddard made his way through the crowd toward the Gryffindor table where Scarlett, Lilly, Jake, and Hope were all standing, waiting their turn to leave the Hall.

"Hey there," said Doddard as he approached. "You're lookin' good, there, Scarlett,"

"Thanks, Doddard," said Scarlett. "I _feel _at lot better too. I'm glad to be out of the hospital wing, I'll tell you that."

"Yeah... yeah, I'm glad you could make it to the feast," said Doddard. "Listen, darlin', I... I wanted to say I'm sorry about Balathar. I thought he was a decent guy, but... well, I'm sorry for tellin' you all about him and your mum. Lettin' you know all that jus' pushed you two closer together. I shouldn't've done that."

"Oh, Doddard, it's not your fault," said Scarlett kindly. "I'm glad you told me about them. I wouldn't have found out otherwise and I believe I deserved to know."

"It's true, you did," Doddard agreed. "I jus' wish he hadn't turned on you. I never imagined he'd betray Professor Phoebus. They'd been friends for years. I thought he was a good guy." Scarlett smiled rather sadly at him.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "So did I…"

-.-

They were indeed up very early the next morning. Their trunks were packed and taken down to Hogsmeade Station to be loaded onto the waiting Hogwarts Express. The students themselves ate breakfast in the Great Hall and then were instructed to make the trek to Hogsmeade Station for the long trip back to London. The first years left the rest of the school to make the traditional journey across the Black Lake in the fleet of tiny boats.

Scarlett, Lilly, Jake, and Hope took a boat to themselves as Doddard ushered the other first years into their boats and soon they were off. While the others were all chatting unconcernedly, Scarlett found herself removed from the conversation. She gazed up at the majestic castle towering above them, watching its many turrets and towers glistening in the early morning sunlight.

It hadn't been her ideal first year at Hogwarts and she had to admit she hadn't been particularly happy throughout most of it. Nevertheless as she watched the castle grow smaller as they crossed the lake, she felt rather sad; as though instead of going home, she was leaving it.

"Don't look so upset," Lilly said quietly, squeezing the brunette's knee (the only part of the girl she could easily reach within the confines of their rickety dinghy). "Two months and we'll be back." Scarlett just nodded and looked back up at the castle as their boats reached the shore.

It had only been ten months since she had first ridden one of those boats across the lake and first laid eyes on Hogwarts, but to Scarlett it seemed much longer. She had changed so much in such a short time. She had faced terrible danger and been hurt far worse, both physically and emotionally, than she had ever dreamed possible. In light of everything that had happened, she couldn't help but wonder what the following years would bring. Whatever ideas she might have had that day, none of them could have possibly prepared her for what was to come.

They climbed out of the boats and made their way toward the station, where the shining scarlet steam engine was gently billowing smoke across the platform. Together, the four friends found a compartment near the rear of the train.

"Some year," said Jake as the cars jerked and the train began to slowly pull out of the station. Scarlett couldn't disagree. It certainly had been that.

The four of them whiled away the afternoon playing games of Exploding Snap and snacking on treats from the snack cart that passed by around midday as the train sped further and further away, leaving Hogwarts far behind. By early evening, the fields of wheat and grains gave way to buildings and cars as the train slowly entered London and moments later was pulling into King's Cross Station. Together, they collected their belongings and joined the queue to disembark the train. Out on the platform, they quickly swapped telephone numbers mostly for Jake's benefit who, as a muggleborn, did not have access to the Floo Network.

"Here," said Lilly, scribbling down her phone number three times on three pieces of parchment and passing them out to her friends.

"And here's my number," said Jake, giving his own number to the girls. "So, call me."

"Maybe," said Hope with a small smile.

"I mean it," said Jake firmly. "I don't want to spend the whole summer without talking to you gals."

"'Gals'?" Scarlett asked, arching her eyebrows. Jake shrugged.

"_Ladies_ then, is that better?" he asked.

"Good enough..." she replied with a grin and together, the four of them stepped through the magical barrier, back into the Muggle world.


End file.
